INDEX. (continued 35)

Scott, Captain Peter Astle, R.N., Commander of the Squadron employed for the Protection of the Fisheries, and Chairman of the Board of Examiners of Masters and Mates of Canada, was born on the 25th of February, 1816, at Gillingham, Kent, England. His father, James Scott, a paymaster in the Royal navy, was born in Virginia, and left it with his father, a captain of the Royal army during the Revolution. Captain Scott received his education at the Rochester and Chatham Classical and Mathematical School, at Rochester, county of Kent. He joined the navy as a volunteer of the first class, on board the Basilisk cutter, ten guns, at the Nore, on the 14th of February, 1829; removed to the Prince Regent, 120 guns, in August, 1830, spent part of his time in the Channel with the flag of Rear Admiral Sir William Parker, and also on the Scout, eighteen guns, in the North Sea. He then joined the Thunderer, eighty-four guns, and passed his examination for lieutenant, 1st September, 1835. While returning to England in November of that year in a merchantman, she capsized while crossing the Bay of Biscay, but righting again, her crew were fortunate enough to get her safely into Bristol with the loss of bulwarks, boats, and a few spars. He next joined the Asia, eighty-four guns, in 1836, and proceeded to the Mediterranean, and after serving a short time in the Blazer steam vessel, returned to England in the Barham, fifty guns, and was paid off at Sheerness in January, 1839. In April, 1839, he joined the Terror, under Captain F. R. M. Crozier, her consort, the Erebus, being under the charge of Captain James Clark Ross. After spending a winter at Desolation Island (Kerguelans Land), these vessels reached Hobartown, Van Diemen’s Land, in August, 1840. It being necessary to have magnetic observations taken at that place in connection with those established by the various foreign governments all over the world, an observatory was erected at the expense of the Admiralty, and Lieutenant Jos. Kay was placed in charge, Captain Scott being first assistant, and placed under the orders of Sir John Franklin, who was then lieutenant-governor of Tasmania. Captain Scott, having some knowledge of naval architecture, built a yacht for the lieutenant-governor, of about 180 tons, and two gunboats of about 100 tons each, for the defence of the colony. He was relieved at the observatory by Lieutenant Smith in the autumn of 1844, and returned to England in May, 1845, only a few days too late to join the Erebus, of the Arctic expedition, as second lieutenant, under the command of his old friend, Sir John Franklin. In August, 1845, he was appointed to the Columbia steam vessel, Captain W. Owen, who was then surveying the Bay of Fundy. In 1848 the Columbia was paid off at Chatham, Kent, England. Captain Scott then joined the coast guard for six months, and in May, 1849, was reappointed to the Columbia, under Commander Shortland, R.N., as assistant surveyor, to continue the North American survey. In 1857 the Columbia was condemned and sold out of the service, and the survey was continued in hired vessels. In January, 1862, Mr. Scott was promoted to the rank of commander, and in 1865, on Captain Shortland retiring from the command, he assumed the charge of the survey, and returned to England in May, 1866. In September of that year he retired with the rank of captain, and in April, 1869, having been invited to return to Canada, he took command of the Dominion steamship Druid, then employed protecting the fisheries. In the spring of 1870, he removed to the government steamship, Lady Head, and took charge of the vessels employed in the fisheries protection service. In 1871, in addition to the above duties, he was appointed chairman of the Board of Examiners of Masters and Mates for Canada, which office he still holds. In November, 1879, Captain Scott was directed to proceed to England, to bring out the corvette Charybdis, of about 2,000 tons, to be employed as a training ship. As the vessel could not be got ready until late in the winter, Captain Scott concluded to lay her up and return for her in the following spring. In May, 1880, he sailed her across the Atlantic, and moored her in St. John, in July of the same year. In February, 1886, on the United States government giving notice that the fishery clauses of the Treaty of Washington had terminated, Canada fitted out a small squadron to protect her fisheries; and Captain Scott again assumed the command, embarking on the government steamer Lansdowne, with two guns and thirty-three men. In August he took command of the government steamer Acadia, with one gun and thirty-three men, and is still in the service of the Canadian government. In March, 1847, he married M. A. Hobbs, daughter of George Hobbs, a merchant in Eastport, Maine, United States.

La Rocque, Rev. Paul S., St. Hyacinthe, Canon and Rector of St. Hyacinthe Cathedral, Doctor of Theology and Canon Law, was born at St. Marie de Monnoir, province of Quebec, on the 28th October, 1846. His father was Albert La Rocque, and mother, Genevieve Daigneault. His brother, the Rev. Charles La Rocque, is chaplain of the Good Shepherd Convent, at Montreal; and the Right Rev. Joseph La Rocque, and the Right Rev. Charles La Rocque, the first and second bishops of St. Hyacinthe, were his cousins. The Rev. Father La Rocque received his education at St. Theresa and St. Hyacinthe Colleges. He was ordained a priest on the 9th May, 1869, and from that time until 1880, was a missionary in Florida, United States. Without any official connection during his stay at Key West he acted as chaplain to the United States troops stationed there. He then returned to St. Hyacinthe, and the following year, 1881, he went to Rome, and pursued his studies in the Gregorian and the Appolinaire Universities. He remained in the Eternal City for two years and a half, and then made a tour of the principal cities of Europe. He also travelled to the Holy Land, and visited Jerusalem, Nazareth, etc. This journey was undertaken with the view of gaining all the information possible with regard to Bible history, and to put him in a position to communicate the most accurate information to his flock, with regard to that far-off country. As a linguist, Rev. Canon La Rocque has few, if any, equals in Canada, being able to speak five different languages. He is a great favorite with his parishioners, takes a deep interest in their material and spiritual affairs, and is very kind and attentive to the sick and needy. The degree of doctor of theology and canon law was conferred upon him at Rome.

Bowell, Hon. Mackenzie, Minister of Customs of the Dominion of Canada, M.P. for North Hastings, Ontario, was born at Rickinghall, Suffolk, England, on the 27th December, 1823, and when about ten years of age accompanied his parents to Canada. Mr. Bowell, in early youth, exhibited much courage and enterprise, and one is not surprised to see what he has achieved when looking back at his career. He had a quick eye for business, and was seldom astray in judging what sort of enterprise was profitable, and what had better be avoided. He had also a military enthusiasm, and assisted in 1857, in raising and organizing a rifle company of sixty-five men, in what was known at that time as class B, to which no assistance was given by the government, beyond furnishing the rifles. He served on the frontier in the winter of 1864-5, during the American rebellion, and again during the Fenian troubles of 1866. He entered a printing office as an apprentice in 1834, and during his whole life up to the time when heavy political responsibilities fell upon his shoulders, he was connected with the newspaper press of Canada. He was editor and proprietor of the Belleville Daily and Weekly Intelligencer newspaper for a number of years, and at one time president of the Dominion Editors and Reporters’ Association. In education he has taken considerable interest, as is evidenced by the fact that he held for eleven years the chairmanship of the Board of School Trustees, of Belleville. He has always been a prominent Orangeman, and was for eight years grand master of the Provincial Orange Grand Lodge of Ontario East, which position he resigned, when in 1870 he was elected most worshipful grand master and sovereign of the Orange Association of British America. This office he continued to hold until he resigned in June, 1878. He was likewise president of the Triennial Council of Orangeism of the world, having been elected to that position at the council held in Derry, Ireland, in 1876. From Mr. Bowell’s connection with important public enterprises is gathered his connection with industrial and commercial movements. He was, for many years, president of the West Hastings Agricultural Society, and vice-president of the Agricultural and Arts Association of Ontario; president of the Hastings Mutual Fire Insurance Company, the Farren Manufacturing Company, and the Dominion Safe-Gas Company, and president of the Belleville and North Hastings Railway; and was captain of No. 1 company of the 15th battalion while on service during the Fenian troubles, and subsequently major in the 49th battalion of Volunteer Rifles. In 1863 Mr. Bowell contested the north riding of the county of Hastings for parliamentary honors, as the nominee of the Conservative convention, but refusing to join in the cries against the incorporation of Roman Catholic institutions, and what was then termed French domination, which were made test questions at the time, he was defeated. In 1867 he again presented himself to the electors of North Hastings, and having stated his views with that calm reasonableness which has always characterized his utterances, he was elected. He entered parliament therefore at confederation, but took no very prominent part in the debates of the house for the first two or three years. His first success in parliament was in his criticism of a measure introduced by the late Sir George E. Cartier, then minister of militia, for the purpose of reorganizing the militia force of Canada. Upon this occasion his practical experience and knowledge of the requirements of the volunteer force had its effect upon the house, and he succeeded in helping to defeat the government upon the details of the bill three times during one sitting of the house. Being an independent thinker, he was not always in accord with the leaders of his party, having voted against them upon many important measures, notably the Nova Scotia better terms resolutions, and upon the motion for the ratification of the Washington treaty. He was re-elected in 1872, and, consequently, in parliament, when the Macdonald government fell, and the Hon. Alexander Mackenzie succeeded to power. It was in opposition that Mr. Bowell took a leading part, not only in the business of the house, but upon the most important committees. He inaugurated and conducted the proceedings in the House of Commons which resulted in his moving the motion for the expulsion of Louis David Riel, member elect for Provencher, Manitoba, for the part he, Riel, had taken in ordering the shooting of Scott, a prisoner of his during the revolt in Manitoba in 1879. He also took an active part in bringing before the house the question of the violation of the provisions of the Independence of Parliament Act, by its speaker, and by a number of its members. The motion which he made upon this question, though defeated, led subsequently to the resignation of Mr. Speaker Anglin, one member of the cabinet, and four members of the house. He did not make many speeches, but whenever he spoke, the members always listened to him, for he had gained the reputation of being a man who had, first, something to say, and, second, a reasonable and a satisfactory way of saying it. He has been successful at every election since. On the 19th of October, 1878, upon the resumption of power by the Conservative party, Mr. Bowell was called to the Privy Council, and sworn in minister of customs, and that office he still holds. The member for North Hastings is level-headed, and possessed of a sound judgment. It is pleasing sometimes to sit in the gallery of the House of Commons and watch him answer questions or reply to allegations waged against the administration of his department. Under no circumstances, nor by any pressure or irritation, can he be moved to haste or ill-temper; but he sits there, disregarding feeling, and doing what he considers to be his duty as a minister of the Crown. Mr. Bowell married in 1847; Harriet Louise, eldest daughter of the late Jacob G. Moore, of Belleville, by whom he has nine children, five of whom are living.

Ritchie, Hon. Robert J., Solicitor-General of the Province of New Brunswick, M.P.P. for the county of St. John, was born in St. John, and educated in the city of his birth. Having studied and adopted law as a profession, he was called to the bar on the 16th of October, 1867. Since then he has worked up an extensive and prosperous practice. He has for many years taken a great interest in politics, and was first nominated for a seat in the House of Assembly just previous to the general election in 1878. He won his seat, and at once took a prominent part in the debates in the house. Having offered again in 1882, he was a second time successful. Again, at the general election on 26th April, 1886, he scored a great victory, standing second among the fortunate candidates. The vote was, Hon. D. McLellan, 2943; R. J. Ritchie, 2570; W. A. Quintin, 2531; A. A. Stockton, 2531; defeating James Rourke, 2188; J. A. Chesley, 1834; G. G. Gilbert, 1645; John Connor, 1468; A. T. Armstrong, 1823. In Nova Scotia, since confederation, the legal affairs of the local administration have been attended to by the attorney-general exclusively; but in New Brunswick they still keep up the office of solicitor-general as well. The talented premier, Hon. A. G. Blair, took the position of attorney-general when he formed his cabinet on the 3rd March, 1883, and another lawyer of excellent standing being wanted to complete the personnel of the cabinet, the gentleman who forms the subject of this sketch was fitly selected as the best man for the position of solicitor-general. His appointment to the executive council necessitated his again going to the country and he was re-elected by acclamation. As a member of the government, he has taken an active part in all the measures which have been presented to the house, and has well sustained his prominent position. In addition to his duties, as an active and leading politician, Hon. Mr. Ritchie is connected with several of the local corporations of St. John, and his influence is felt in social and professional circles. Although, having suffered great losses by fire, the people of St. John have a spirit of business enterprise which has risen superior to their reverses. The shipping and lumbering business through which the money of her merchants was chiefly accumulated have languished of late years, and no compensating trade has sprung up to take their place. But the manufacturing activity of the inhabitants has proved successful, and the population of the city has not declined. The yield of the fisheries, as elsewhere down in the maritime provinces during the summer of 1887, was enormous. If St. John is favored by the Canadian Pacific Railway Company as regards making it a winter port, the outlook for the city’s future is good. The bar of St. John is rich in forensic talent. The head-quarters of the legal fraternity centres in Ritchie’s and Palmer’s blocks. The nearness of the lawyers’ quarters to one another enables the members of the bar to obtain counsel and intercommunication which is very advantageous and helpful. When the whirligig of politics brings the Liberals into power again in Dominion affairs there is probably no man in the opposition camp whose prospects of succeeding to a position on the bench are better than those of Hon. R. J. Ritchie. His talents peculiarly fit him for the position of one of Her Majesty’s judges.

McLelan, Hon. Archibald Woodbury, Postmaster-General for the Dominion of Canada, M.P. for Colchester, Nova Scotia, was born at Londonderry, N.S., on the 24th December, 1824. He is descended from a family that emigrated from Londonderry, Ireland, during the last century, and settled in the province of Nova Scotia. His father, the late G. W. McLelan, during his lifetime sat for a long period of years in the Nova Scotia legislature. The future postmaster-general received his primary education in the schools of his native parish, and finished his classical course at Mount Allison Wesleyan Academy. In early life, he engaged in a mercantile line of life, and continued in it for a considerable term, but in later years became an extensive ship-builder and ship-owner. He began to take an interest in politics when comparatively a young man, and represented Colchester in the Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia from 1858 to 1863; then North Colchester in the same legislature from the latter year up to confederation; and Colchester, in the House of Commons, at Ottawa, until called to the Senate of Canada on the 21st June, 1869. In 1881, he resigned his seat in the Senate, and on an appeal to his old friends in Colchester, they returned him again as their representative in the House of Commons. On his return to Ottawa, he was sworn in a member of the Privy Council, and made president of the council on the 20th May of the same year. On the 10th July, 1882, he was appointed minister of marine and fisheries; on the 10th December, 1885, minister of finance; and on the 27th January, 1887, postmaster-general, the office he now so ably fills. Hon. Mr. McLelan is a director of the Cobequid Marine Insurance Company. In 1869 he was appointed one of the commissioners for the construction of the Intercolonial Railway; and in 1883, was a commissioner from Canada to the Intercolonial Fisheries Exhibition held in London. As a recognition of his valuable services on this occasion, he was presented with a diploma of honor. He is a Conservative in politics. In 1854 he was married to Caroline Metzler, of Halifax.

Reesor, Hon. David, Rosedale, Toronto, Senator of the Dominion of Canada, is a descendant of a German family. His great-grandfather, Christian Reesor, who was a Mennonite minister, emigrated from Mannheim to Pennsylvania about 1737, having under his charge a small colony, and settled in Lancaster county, where some of the family still reside. The original homestead, a splendid farm of three hundred acres, is still in their possession. The first settlement of this family in the township of Markham took place as early in its history as 1801, when Christian Reesor, the grandfather of the senator, his father, Abraham Reesor, together with three uncles, located in that section of the country. Here David Reesor was born on the 18th January, 1823. His, mother Anna Dettiwiler, was also from Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. She died in Markham in 1857, her husband having died in 1832. The early education of Senator Reesor was obtained in the common school of the township, but previous to his being put to any work he received three years private tuition from a competent instructor, which helped him considerably. His father’s farm was the first stage on which he enacted his part in the drama of life; then he became a merchant and manufacturer, and continued business in these lines for five years. In 1856 he published the first copy of the Markham Economist, a journal of strong Reform proclivities, which he edited and conducted with considerable skill for several years, and sold the business out about 1868. He has been a magistrate since 1848, a notary public since 1862, and for a long time was secretary and treasurer of the Markham Agricultural Society. When the counties of York, Ontario and Peel were united in 1850, he became a member of the county council and served several years, being warden in 1860. His career as a school trustee will not soon be forgotten, as it was chiefly through his exertions that Markham secured a grammar school. He has long been connected with the militia, and has held the rank of lieutenant-colonel of the reserve since 1866. He was appointed returning officer for the East Riding of York, July, 1854. In the more extensive region of politics Senator Reesor has not been less true to his principles, or less active as a general advocate of measures that tend to the public good, than when in the limited sphere of township councillor he supported and directed local improvements. He represented King’s division in the Legislative Council of Canada from 1860 until the confederation of the provinces, when he was called to the Senate by royal proclamation, October 23, 1867. At the time when the confederation scheme was under discussion in the Legislative Council, he moved a resolution, which, had it been passed, would have made the office of senator elective; but it was defeated on a division. He is a Liberal in politics. Senator Reesor is a member of the Methodist church, and every good cause obtains from him a hearty and willing support. He was for many years president of the Markham Bible Society. In February, 1848, he married Emily, eldest daughter of Daniel McDougall, of St. Marys, Ontario, and sister of Hon. William McDougall, C.B. They have five children, four daughters and one son, two of the former being married. Marion Augusta, the eldest daughter, is the wife of Dr. Colburn, of Oshawa, and Jessie Adelaide, the wife of John Holmes, of Toronto.

Read, Rev. Philip Chesshyre, M.A., Professor of Classics, Bishop’s College, Lennoxville, Quebec province, was born on the 4th March, 1850, at Woodend, Hyde, Cheshire, England. His father, Rev. Alexander Read, B.A., late scholar of Trinity College, Dublin, was a descendant of an old Scotch family from Ayrshire, who settled in North of Ireland, in 1600. His mother, Anne Whiteway, is descended from a Devonshire family from Kingsteignton and Whiteway, and was a daughter of Philip Whiteway, J.P., of Runcorn, Cheshire, and Anne Chesshyre, of Rock Savage, his wife. Professor Read received his education in Manchester Grammar School from 1861 to 1867—being captain of the school in 1866. He then attended Lincoln College, Oxford, where he secured a brilliant record, and in 1872 was assistant lecturer in the college. In 1873 he was ordained by his lordship the Bishop of Salisbury. In 1872 he was appointed assistant master at Marlborough College; in 1874, secretary of the Church Council and examiner of schools under government in Barbadoes; in 1876, head master of the school at Newton, Lancashire; in 1877, rector of Bishop’s College, Lennoxville; in 1882, professor of Classics and Philosophy in Bishop’s College, Lennoxville; and in 1887 examiner to the Medical Board of the province of Quebec. In early life Professor Read began to take an interest in the volunteer movement, and was sub-lieutenant in the Oxford Rifle Volunteers. He is now captain of the school corps at Lennoxville. In 1886 and 1888 he occupied the position of chaplain in the Independent Order of Foresters. He has travelled a good deal, and found time to visit the West Indies, Spain, and several other foreign countries. In religion the professor belongs to the Episcopal church, and holds moderately broad views. On the 28th June, 1879, he was united in marriage to Helen Rosina, daughter of John W. McCallum, of Quebec, and Annie S. Brown, of Halifax, his wife. Mrs. Read is a lineal descendant of an old Scotch manufacturer who settled in Quebec shortly after the conquest of Canada. The fruit of the above union has been two promising children, Alexander Cuthbert Read, and Philip Austin Ottley Read.

Sterling, Alexander Addison, Fredericton, N.B., High Sheriff of the county of York, New Brunswick, was born on the 22nd of August, 1838, at St. Marys, York county. He is the third son of George Henly Sterling, and his wife Susan Elizabeth McLean, and grandson of Captain John Sterling and Captain Archibald McLean, who were both loyalists and served in the war of the American revolution, but eventually settled in New Brunswick. He was brought up on his father’s farm at St. Marys, and commenced his education at the local school, finishing his course of study at the Fredericton Grammar School. He has been engaged in farming and mercantile pursuits all his life, commencing his commercial career as clerk in a store at Fredericton, in 1852, where he remained until 1856. In 1857 he removed to Toronto, Ontario, being employed by Paterson & Sons, hardware merchants of that city. Relinquishing this position in 1858, he returned to New Brunswick, and commenced farming at Maugerville, Sunbury county, in partnership with his brother, the late George A. Sterling (who was elected a member of the Provincial legislature for the county of Sunbury, at the general election of 1882, but who died in October, 1883.) From 1864 to 1867 he represented the parish of Maugerville in the municipal council of the county of Sunbury, but during the latter year he removed to Fredericton, where he opened a general store, which was carried on for fifteen years, and in the year 1883 this was merged into a wholesale flour business, in which trade he is now successfully employed. He was married on the 12th of August, 1869, to Sarah Haws, daughter of John Haws, ship-builder, of Portland, St. John, N.B., and there have been six children issue of this marriage. Living in the cathedral city of his province he is a staunch member of the Episcopal church. He has been an energetic worker in the educational, parochial and municipal affairs, having been appointed a member of the Board of School Trustees for the city of Fredericton, in 1875, and also high sheriff for the county of York, in 1883, both of which offices he now holds. For a number of years he was connected with the temperance movement, and was an active member of the Order of the Sons of Temperance, and held the office of grand worthy patriarch for the province of New Brunswick, in 1876.

Torey, Edgar J., formerly Principal of the Hants County Academy at Windsor, N.S., is a native of Guysborough, N.S., where he was born about twenty-seven years ago. He attended the grammar school in his native town and studied with such diligence that at a very early age he passed the examination held under the Council of Public Instruction for grade B, or first-class male teacher’s diploma. He began to teach at the age of fifteen, and has since, with intervals of study, pursued that employment. He has taught in Amherst town, Hantsport, Hants Co., and in various other important schools in the province. Feeling the need of a thorough classical education, Mr. Torey availed himself of the advantages offered to gentlemen in the teaching profession by Dalhousie College, Halifax, N.S. He, like many other teachers, taught during the summer months and attended lectures in Dalhousie during the winter term, lasting from November to April. Pursuing this course for some years with success he took his degree of B.A. in 1882. He then took charge of the Victoria County Academy for one year, at the end of which period he resigned the principalship to accept a similar position in Guysborough, and won the encomiums of all with whom he came into contact, for careful and thorough teaching. In October, in the year 1884, the position of Principal in the Hants County Academy at Windsor, worth $850 a year, falling vacant, Mr. Torey applied for the situation and was selected from among a number of other applicants. The public schools were established in Windsor in the autumn of 1866, and now number eight departments. The position of Principal has been held by such educationists as S. S. Fisk; James Forrest, M.A.; J. L. Brown; Dr. Emdon Fritz; John F. Godfrey, B.A., and H. Elliott. The schools are thoroughly graded from the primary department and kindergarten up to the academy, which draws a special government allowance. A three years’ course is followed in the academy, embracing the classics and French, physics and the higher mathematics, and chemistry. The Principal, in addition to his labors in these branches and in preparing students for the matriculation examinations at the various provincial colleges, has a great deal of work to do in preparing and discussing questions for examination in the grading of all the schools. He also has a general supervision of the schools. The school is periodically visited by the county inspector, C. W. Roscoe, an experienced teacher, and also by Dr. David Allison, superintendent of education. Mr. Torey conducted the school with much success, and has fitted several students for college. After holding the position of Principal for three years he decided to adopt the profession of medicine as a permanent employment. His pupils heard of his approaching resignation with regret, and presented him with a valuable and handsome gold-headed cane, accompanied with an address. He resigned his position in October, 1887, and repaired to the University of New York, in the medical department of which he is preparing himself for his life work in the healing profession. He has the advantage of studying in one of the best equipped medical colleges in America, and one from which have graduated some of our best provincial medicos. He is pursuing his studies with great success and is very popular among his fellow-students.

Blackadar, Hugh William, Postmaster of the City of Halifax, Nova Scotia, was born at Halifax, March 4th, 1843. He is son of Hugh William Blackadar, proprietor and publisher of the Acadian Recorder, and Sophia Coleman. Educated under George Munro (now millionaire publisher of New York), then rector of the Free Church Academy, Halifax. He early in life took an active part in the conduct of the Acadian Recorder, and on the death of his father, June 13th, 1863, assumed the management of that journal, which he enlarged from a weekly to a tri-weekly, and subsequently to a daily. In 1864 Mr. Blackadar joined the volunteers, and subsequently held the rank of lieutenant in the third brigade Halifax artillery. He is a member of the Halifax Yacht Club. He was elected an alderman for Ward 4 in 1867, and was re-elected in 1870, serving altogether six years. Represented the city of Halifax as co-delegate with Mayor Stephen Tobin at the railroad convention held at Portland, Me., in 1868, and was one of the secretaries of the convention. In 1869 he was made magistrate for the city and county of Halifax; was a member of the Halifax Board of School Commissioners for five years from the reconstruction of that body in 1868; was appointed Queen’s printer of the province in 1869, and held that position under the Vail-Annand and Hill administrations till 1875. He was appointed postmaster of the city of Halifax Nov. 5th, 1874, by the Dominion government, which office he now holds. In religion he belongs to the Baptist denomination. He married, May 29th, 1866, Rachel Saxton, of Halifax.

Plumb, Hon. Josiah Burr, Speaker of the Senate of Canada. The country lost, by the sudden death of Senator Plumb, at Niagara, on the 12th of March, 1888, a gentleman possessed of excellent qualities as a man and as a politician. He was born on the 25th March, 1816, at East Haven, Connecticut, United States, where his father, an Episcopal clergyman, had charge of a parish. In 1845 he came to Canada, married a daughter of the late Samuel Street, and took up his residence at Niagara. For many years he lived in retirement, ample means rendering it unnecessary that he should take part in business, and it was not until 1874 that he turned his attention actively to politics. At that time Sir John Macdonald was passing through he darkest period of his political career, and it was more out of a chivalrous regard for the fallen leader than from any desire to achieve honors for himself that Mr. Plumb threw himself into the fight. In parliament and on the platform he was a most effective worker. He never for a moment spared himself, nor did he despair of success, though the outlook for his party and his leader up to the very day of the election in 1878 was never very bright. After that victory it was thought the indefatigable member for Niagara would receive for his services some recognition; but at that time this was not to be. Mr. Plumb continued to serve as a follower, and even consented in 1882 to the extinction, under the Redistribution Act, of the borough for which he sat. Having thus been legislated out of Niagara, he ran at the general election in the same year for North Wellington in the Conservative interest; but owing in part to the late hour at which he accepted the candidature, and in part to the personal popularity of his opponent, he suffered defeat. In the following year he was called to the Senate. As a senator he certainly made his mark. He brought to his task in that body a ripe parliamentary experience, a well-stored mind, and great fluency of speech. So highly appreciated was he by the ministerialists in the Senate and by the government that on the occasion of the withdrawal of Sir Alexander Campbell from the government, and pending the selection of a successor, he was asked to take charge of government measures in that chamber. The duty imposed upon him, it is hardly necessary to say, was performed most acceptably. Mr. Plumb’s elevation to the speakership of the Senate took place immediately after the general election of 1887. His wide information, dignified bearing, and fine social qualities made him a model president of the Upper House. Yet he has departed, as he might well have wished to do, full of years and honors. [For a more extended record of Mr. Plumb’s career, see the first series of this work.]

Peterson, Peter Alexander, Civil Engineer, Montreal, member of the Institution of Civil Engineers, member of the American Society Civil Engineers, and member of the Council Canadian Society Civil Engineers, was born on 8th November, 1839, at Niagara Falls, province of Ontario. He is the eldest son of William Lounsberry Peterson and Susan Macmicking. Both his parents were descended from United Empire loyalist families who came to Canada on the conclusion of the American war, having sacrificed their property in the cause of the mother country, and were granted large tracts of land in Upper Canada. His maternal grandfather, the late Major John Macmicking, descended from the old Scotch family of Macmicking, of Miltonise and Killanbrougham, in the county of Wigton, was an ultra loyalist of the old Tory school. He fought in all the battles of 1812 on the Niagara frontier, and was wounded at Lundy’s Lane and Chippewa, and carried two bullets in his body till his death in 1863. He was out again in 1837, on the Tory side, raising a troop of cavalry which he commanded. Mr. Peterson was educated partly at a common school in Stamford, and partly by private tuition, preparatory to entering the Toronto University in the engineering course. He was articled, in 1859, to Mr. Thomas C. Keefer, C.M.G., member of the Institution of Civil Engineers, and remained with him as a student and assistant till May, 1867, during which time he was engaged upon the Hamilton & Port Dover Railway, the Hamilton waterworks, a survey for the Georgian Bay Canal through the county of Ontario, and upon the construction of several large dams upon the Grand River at Paris and Brantford, besides having charge of the Toronto office, doing a general consulting engineering practice. In the spring of 1867 he accepted a position on the Great Western Railway of Canada, and in the autumn of the same year was offered the position of resident engineer on the New York, Oswego and Midland Railway, with charge from Oswego to Oneida, where he remained till March, 1868, when he was offered a position on the Intercolonial Railway surveys. He was appointed resident on construction of this railway for contract number 15 at Bathurst, where he remained till September, 1872, when he resigned to accept the position of chief engineer of the Toronto waterworks, to carry out the scheme recommended by Messrs. T. C. Keefer and E. S. Chesborough, the consulting engineers for these works. In September, 1875, before the water-works were completed, Mr. Peterson was offered by the DeBoucherville government, who had undertaken the construction of the railways from Quebec to Montreal and from Montreal to Ottawa, the position of chief engineer of these lines, which offer he accepted, arranging with the Toronto water-works commissioners to retain charge of the works till their completion, and with the government to hold the two positions conjointly. Mr. Peterson removed to Montreal in October, 1875, but retained charge of the water-works in Toronto till the end of 1877, when the works were completed, $2,000,000 having been expended upon them. Mr. Peterson had to encounter more than the usual amount of criticism during the early days of his official service in Toronto, but after the election of January, 1874, when his principal opponents were defeated, the hostile criticism ceased, and the general opinion prevailed that he had carried out the duties entrusted to him in a faithful, efficient and satisfactory manner. His career in the service of the Quebec government, terminated in September, 1881, when he resigned to accept the position of chief engineer of the St. Lawrence bridge, which was about to be built by the Canadian Pacific Railway Company. During the debate in the Legislative Assembly of Quebec on the bill to authorize the construction of the Chaudière Bridge, the premier, the Hon. Mr. Chapleau, in moving the second reading of the measure, asked the house to let it go through without opposition, on account of the extreme urgency of at once letting the contract. The government had had great difficulty in making a choice between the three lowest bidders. Each of the contractors had offered advantages, and their offers had been most carefully weighed from every point of view, and from an engineering point as well, and Clarke, Reeves & Co.’s had been found the most advantageous. In this opinion he was confirmed by Mr. Peterson, chief engineer, to whose character, carefulness and skill he was bound to testify most fully; and that his opinion of Mr. Peterson’s engineering reputation was further confirmed by the fact that his original estimates for the cost of the whole bridge had been in every case reduced instead of, as is usual in such cases, largely exceeded. Hon. Mr. Joly consented most willingly to the second reading of the bill, and complimented the premier on his frankness. He alluded to the current rumor of favoritism in awarding the contract to Clarke, Reeves & Co., but he declined to entertain the idea that the government was actuated by any improper motives in awarding the contract to this firm, although their tender was not the lowest. He then instanced the excellent character and rapid construction of their work, and the special advantages they were ready to afford; and said he had every confidence in Mr. Peterson, and endorsed all the Hon. Mr. Chapleau had said respecting him. Hon. Mr. Chapleau then thanked Hon. Mr. Joly, and promised that the tenders would be submitted at once to the house. In considering the letting of the contract he had, most fortunately, had a professional adviser, upon whom he could rely—Mr. Peterson being, in fact, the strictest and most rigid of engineers. During his engagement with the Quebec government, he served under the DeBoucherville, the Joly and the Chapleau administrations, and gained the good will and confidence of them all, no party ever venturing to criticise his conduct, which, however, was furiously assailed by the contractor and his allies. On sending in his resignation to the government he was asked to withdraw it. The line between Montreal and Quebec was to be completed in October, 1877, and handed over to the government, but the contractor refused to give it up and continued to run it for his own benefit, keeping all the earnings. Two attempts were made to take possession of it, but failed. In the summer of 1878, Mr. Peterson offered to take possession of it for the government, which offer being accepted, a full power of attorney was given him to act for the Quebec government in the matter. The late Edward Carter, Q.C., was engaged with him for a considerable time in perfecting the case, and in August, Mr. Peterson, with the Hon. P. J. O. Chauveau, sheriff of Montreal, took possession of the Montreal district against a large force of men who were placed in charge of the Hochelaga and Mile End stations by the contractor, and alone retained possession against heavy odds and in spite of an injunction obtained by the contractor, which was served upon him the day before the seizure, and again while at Mile End holding a train against the will of the passengers on board of it, and the employees of the late contractor. He held the stations from noon till 10 p.m., when troops were obtained from the Dominion government to keep what had been gained. The government was so satisfied with the manner in which Mr. Peterson obtained and held possession of the railway, that he was appointed general manager. The contractor attempted through the courts, as well as by force on several other occasions, to regain possession of the line, but was defeated at every point. For taking possession of the railway in defiance of the injunction, Mr. Peterson was tried for contempt of court and found guilty, but was only required to give bail not to do so again. Between this time and his resignation, Mr. Peterson built the Chaudière bridge over the Ottawa river, just above the Chaudière rapids. He also strongly advocated the eastern entrance of the Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa & Ontario Railway into the Quebec gate barracks, as against the proposed site at the Papineau road, which had been commenced under the DeBoucherville government; and having shewed the Joly government how cheaply it could be built, got it adopted by that government, and carried it out under the Chapleau government. On entering the services of the Canadian Pacific Railway, in connection with the construction of the St. Lawrence bridge, he made surveys of various sites, and among them that recommended by the late Col. Roberts, president of the American Society of Civil Engineers, near the Lachine Rapids at Heron Island, but finally reported in favor of the Caughnawaga line, which was adopted in the winter of 1882; but nothing was done till the autumn of 1885, when contracts were let. This work was successfully carried out under Mr. Peterson’s direction during the summer of 1886, and in addition he built the St. Anne’s and Vaudreuil bridges over the Ottawa river, on the Ontario and Quebec section of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The Sault Ste. Marie Bridge was built during the summer of 1887, under Mr. Peterson’s direction, for the Sault Ste. Marie Bridge Company, which is composed of the C. P. R, the Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic R’y, and the Minneapolis, Sault Ste. Marie and Atlantic Railways. Mr. Peterson is now engineer of the Canadian Pacific Railway, in charge of the lines east of Port Arthur.

Costigan, Hon. John, Ottawa, Minister of Inland Revenue for the Dominion of Canada, M.P. for Victoria, New Brunswick, was born at St. Nicholas, in the province of Quebec, on February 1st, 1835, and received a sound education at the College of St. Anne’s. When his education was completed, he moved to New Brunswick, and thereafter for many years was connected with various pursuits, being at one time registrar of deeds for Victoria county, and a judge of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas for New Brunswick. At a very early age Mr. Costigan gave evidence of the solid intellectual qualities which were to become so conspicuous in after years. Above all, those who watched him closely perceived an unvarying persistency in any course which he marked out for himself. Towards 1861 several of the leading inhabitants of Victoria county decided that they would ask Mr. Costigan to offer himself as a candidate for the legislature, and he consenting to do so, was elected, and sat in the New Brunswick Legislative Assembly until 1866, when on again appealing to his constituents he failed to secure his re-election. He was during that period regarded as one of the ablest men in the house, both sides paying great deference to his opinions. At the general election after confederation he was returned to the House of Commons, and has held his seat uninterruptedly for Victoria county ever since. On May 23rd, 1882, he was sworn in a member of the Privy Council, and made minister of inland revenue, and still occupies that position. On the 20th May, 1872, Mr. Costigan moved an address in the House of Commons, praying his Excellency the Governor-General to disallow the New Brunswick School Act, on the ground “that said law is unjust and causes much uneasiness among the Roman Catholic population.” Some time before the introduction of Mr. Costigan’s resolutions, persons had gone up and down through New Brunswick declaring that the province must have a system of free, non-sectarian public schools, and children of every denomination must attend these schools, and that one and all, according to his real or personal property, would be taxed to maintain the educational system. So far this was good. The province had for many years previously made liberal grants for education, but the schools were under denominational control; there was no thorough system of inspection; no uniform course of instruction, and subjects were taught on the old fashioned parrot plan, an old teacher standing behind the educational bulwark, driving education home with a birch rod. Therefore it was a wise and progressive movement that some one set on foot to reduce this chaos of catechism and birch, and arithmetic and letters, into one harmonious, efficient and enlightened system. The new idea carried the province by storm, and then there was appointed a chief superintendent of education. To this gentleman was assigned the task of drawing up an educational chart, outlining courses of instruction, and prescribing texts. He had just the qualifications needed to carry out the will of the narrow politicians with respect to education and the Roman Catholics, and so rancorously was he disposed towards Catholicism that, it is averred, when writing a letter, he carried his hatred so far as to avoid crossing his t’s. He imagined that all priests and lay brothers were bad men, and all nuns wicked women, not fit in character or garb to teach in the public schools, therefore he drew up a regulation making it unlawful for any teacher employed in the public schools to wear any badge, garb or emblem distinctive of any denominational sect or order. This, of course, excluded nuns, lay brothers, and people of a like ecclesiastical fashion, and the liberal and high-minded proviso was characterized as “the government’s infamous millinery regulation.” Holy Church had no cause for panic when the idea of free, non-sectarian schools was at first broached, although it fidgetted and fretted itself almost out of its vestments; now it had a genuine grievance. It was when this narrow regulation had been put upon the statute-book that Mr. Costigan, a Roman Catholic, raised his voice in the House of Commons and besought parliament to interpose its hand in justice to the minority in his province. He was ably seconded by the Hon. Timothy Warren Anglin, who pleaded until he became pathetic for justice to his co-religionists. Mr. Anglin’s newspaper, the Freeman, week after week, was laden with complainings against the injustice of the New Brunswick legislature. It declared it was the duty of Sir John A. Macdonald’s government to interfere its authority and maintain right. Then Sir John fell under his Pacific scandal load, and the Reformers returned to power, bringing with them Mr. Anglin, whom they put in the speaker’s chair. During the first session of the new parliament, Mr. Costigan again arose and moved his resolution, which ended in these words: “That the government should advise his Excellency to disallow the Act passed by the New Brunswick legislature.” In this case Mr. Speaker Anglin’s support ended with putting the resolution. The whole country knew how he had the Roman Catholic interests at heart, but it was inexpedient now to press the matter—inexpedient of course to embarrass his government, though this was the very course that his great store of wisdom had suggested when Sir John was in office. So Mr. Costigan had to fight the battle alone. To dispose of the matter, the governor-general did not disallow the New Brunswick School Act, and it would have been a constitutional crime had he done so. Nor did Mr. Costigan desire the repeal of such portions of the law as were just; he merely sought to remove the intolerance and bigotry that disgraced the Act in the “millinery regulations.” Although the Act was not repealed, Mr. Costigan’s exertions were not without fruit, for Dr. Rand’s anti-Catholic provision was expunged, and the doctor himself, as political decency in New Brunswick increased, began to totter in his chair. At last Mr. Blair asked him to resign, and he is now back in the province, where we hope a career of usefulness shall always be open to him. Mr. Costigan’s other great act in parliament was the submission, in 1882, of “The Costigan Irish resolution,” praying that Her Majesty might grant Home Rule government to Ireland on the self-government colonial plan, likewise praying for the relief of “suspects,” and asking other ameliorations. In so far as these resolutions addressed themselves to the question of Home Rule for Ireland, history shall always applaud their author, for he was only asking for a country, dear to him by ties of race, a political condition, the success of which he has tested. But it was a pity, a sad pity, that he, and parliament behind him, should have so far forgotten themselves as to advise another country as to what she should do to offenders against her own laws. Mr. Costigan’s career has been a very able one. He is a clear-headed, firm-handed administrator, and has his department thoroughly under control. His admirers a few years ago presented him with a splendid residence in Ottawa. Mr. Costigan in politics is a Conservative, and in religion a Roman Catholic. He married, in 1855, Harriet, daughter of John Ryan, of Grand Falls, New Brunswick.

Barnard, Edmund, Advocate, Montreal, Quebec, was born at Three Rivers, on 23rd January, 1831. He is a son of Edward Barnard, for many years prothonotary of Three Rivers, whose family was originally from Yorkshire, England, settled at an early day in the history of the colonies, at Deerfield, Mass., and immigrated thence into Canada. Mr. Barnard received his education in the Colleges of St. Hyacinthe, Nicolet and Montreal, and took his degrees of B.A. and M.A. at St. John’s College, Fordham, N.Y. He studied law in the office of Judge Polette, in Three Rivers; also with Sir John Rose and the present Mr. Justice Monk, of the Court of Appeals, and was admitted to the bar on the 23rd of October, 1853. Mr. Barnard is known as one of the most studious, painstaking and successful lawyers in Montreal. He has made a specialty of certain branches, such as real estate, French law, municipal law, and law of banks and corporations, he having a very extensive clientèle in those several departments. He often visits England to attend to Canadian cases before the judicial committee of the Privy Council. A fellow member of the Montreal bar gives Mr. Barnard credit for having a very keen perception of the old French law—second to that of no other lawyer in the province—for being a very indefatigable worker in preparing his wises, and for being a fluent and strong advocate, equally good in the French and English languages. In 1858 Mr. Barnard was married to Ellen King, daughter of the Hon. C. L. Austin, recorder of the city of Albany, N.Y., and they have had issue of ten children.

Moodie, Mrs. Susanna, was the sixth daughter of the late Thomas Strickland, of Reydon Hall, Suffolk, England, and was born on the 6th of December, 1803. This Strickland family was certainly one of the most remarkable known in England, since the famous “Nest of Nightingales,” five out of the six daughters having made themselves more or less celebrated in the realm of letters. At the age of thirteen, Susanna Moodie lost her father, at whose hands she had received her education. Mr. Strickland was a man of considerable wealth, highly cultured, and much devoted to literature, so he spent much of his means upon his library, and instilled into his family the same love for belles lettres that he felt himself. Many have regretted that the excellent man did not live to see the fruition of his care. Susanna, it is said, began to write when in her sixteenth year, her early productions being poems and tales for children. In 1829-30, she put out a volume entitled, “Enthusiasm, and other Poems.” In the same year, during a visit to London, she met Lieutenant J. W. Dunbar Moodie, the fourth son of the late James Moodie, of Melsetter, Orkney Islands, to whom she was married on the 4th of April, 1831. Lieutenant Moodie belonged to the 21st Fusiliers, and was then on half pay. They left England in the following year for Canada, settling at Cobourg for a few months, thence proceeding to the township of Hamilton, eight miles from Cobourg, where they took a farm, and remained a year, after which they permitted themselves, unwisely, to be persuaded to settle in the backwoods, ten miles north of Peterborough. This region was then a perfect wilderness. There was no church, no school, no refined society, and very little cleared land near where they took up their abode. Here, struggling with all the privations belonging to life in the woods, they lived for eight years, in the meantime spending all their available money in the purchase of wild lands, and in the operation of the farm, an occupation for which the family, gentle bred, and unaccustomed and unsuited to labour, were singularly unfit. When, in 1837, the rebellion broke out, Lieutenant Moodie, who, from his birth and military training was a devoted loyalist, hastened away to Toronto, leaving his wife and four little children, the eldest only in her fifth year, behind him in the bush. The summer following, he remained absent, and much of the crops were lost, because there was no help to harvest it. All this Mrs. Moodie vividly and feelingly describes in her delightful book, “Roughing it in the Bush.” This was the first ambitious literary effort of Mrs. Moodie, and it attracted wide attention. The style was simple, limpid and picturesque: it was full of movement, and contained pen portraits, which were true to the life, of the hardships of the family’s wilderness life; of the character of the neighbours with whom she was thrown in contact, and of her alternating hopes and disappointments. When the book came out, the Canadians who were pictured in it were terribly wroth, and probably it was the sex of the author that saved her from maltreatment. But she never once exceeded the bounds of truth in her delineations, and invariably pictured the good traits as well as the bad ones, of the ordinary Canadian backwoods family. The book was brought out in England in 1850, but the greatest portion of its contents had already been published in the Literary Garland, Montreal. Encouraged by the success of this book, Mrs. Moodie afterwards brought out in quick succession, through her London publishers, the Messrs. Bentley, “Life in the Clearings,” “Flora Lindsay,” “Mark Hurdleston,” “The World Before them,” “Matrimonial Speculation,” and other works of a more or less fictitious character. It may be said here that after eight years of travail in the woods, Mrs. Moodie received the glad tidings that her husband had been appointed sheriff of the county of Hastings. In a late edition of “Roughing it in the Bush,” brought out by Hunter, Rose & Co., Publishers, of Toronto, Mrs. Moodie writes a preface recounting the social, industrial, educational and moral progress of Canada, since the time of her landing. After Sheriff Moodie’s death at Belleville, in 1869, Mrs. Moodie made her home in Toronto with her younger son, R. B. Moodie; but on his removal to a new residence out of town, she remained with her daughter, Mrs. J. J. Vickers, and passed peacefully away on the afternoon of April 8th, 1885, surrounded by her children and grandchildren. Her aged sister, Mrs. Traill, was beside her at the last. Mrs. Moodie’s often expressed wish to be laid beside her beloved husband at Belleville, where the happiest part of her years were spent, was carried out, and her remains were followed to their last resting-place, close to the beautiful Bay of Quinté, by a large number of dear friends.

McMillan, John, M.D., Pictou, Nova Scotia, was born in London, Ontario, 18th January, 1834. His parents were William McMillan and Anne McKenzie. He received his early education at the schools of his native place, and afterward attended McGill University, Montreal, where he graduated in May, 1857. He then removed to Nova Scotia, and began the practice of his profession in Wallace, Cumberland county. After remaining there for some time he removed to Sherbrooke, Guysborough county, then to New Glasgow, and finally to Pictou, Pictou county, where for the last thirteen years he practised, and has succeeded in building up a good business. He is quarantine officer for the port of Pictou. He belongs to the Masonic order, and is a past master of Caledonia lodge. He was married on 11th June, 1868, to Annie, youngest daughter of the late Senator Holmes, of Pictou, N.S.

Larocque, Rt. Reverend Bishop Joseph, was born at St. Joseph, Chambly, the 28th August, 1808, of one of the most respectable families in that place, and from his earliest years gave evidence of unusual piety and talent. It was no doubt owing to this fact that in 1821 he, with his cousin Charles, who afterwards succeeded him as bishop, upon the recommendation of Mr. Mignault, was educated at the expense of Mr. de St. Ours, and other true friends of education, at the College of St. Hyacinthe, then in its infancy. Young Joseph Larocque was a model scholar, always first in his studies, and practising those virtues which distinguished him in all the varied phases of his after life. In 1829, after having terminated a very brilliant classical course, he entered the ecclesiastical state, and until 1847 we find him working zealously to conquer all difficulties and gain for the St. Hyacinthe Seminary the great renown which it now enjoys. He received the order of priesthood at the hands of his Lordship J. J. Lartigue, on the 15th of March, 1835, and occupied with distinction successively the posts of professor, director, and superior of the institution to which he owed so much. A priest of the merit of Abbé Larocque could not long remain without attracting the attention of Bishop Bourget, who at this time occupied the episcopal seat at Montreal. The eminent prelate summoned him, and conferred upon him the canonship, thereby procuring a most valuable auxiliary in the administration of his diocese, one who, in his manifold duties and work, exercised his natural talent, profound science, and indefatigable zeal. He was entrusted with the editing of Religious Miscellany, published under the auspices of Bishop Bourget. Mgr. Prince, then coadjutor bishop of Montreal, being delegated to take to the Holy Father at Rome the decree of the first council at Quebec, Canon Larocque received orders to accompany him as secretary. During his sojourn in the Holy City he was named Bishop of Cydonia, by his Holiness Pope Pius IX., and coadjutor of Montreal, in place of his Lordship J. C. Prince, promoted to the new bishopric of St. Hyacinthe. On the 28th of the following October he was consecrated in his native parish (Chambly) by Bishop Bourget, assisted by their Lordships Guigues, bishop of Ottawa, and Cooke, bishop of Three Rivers. During the next eight years Bishop Larocque fulfilled his numerous duties in a most exemplary manner, to the detriment of his health. In June, 1860, he was transferred to the bishopric of St. Hyacinthe, but owing to his constant suffering and infirmities, he asked the permission of the Pope to abdicate his charge, which was granted by a Papal decree, dated August 17th, 1865. In July, 1866, Mgr. Larocque was nominated by his Holiness Pope Pius IX., bishop of Germanicopolis. The principal work of the pious prelate during his short term as head of the diocese, was the founding of the Community of the Precious Blood, which in a few years became renowned for piety and virtue. This community owe to the venerable and devoted father the constitution which governs them, and several spiritual works, among others, “Manner of Devotion to the Precious Blood,” and “Meditations for each Month of the Year;” also, “The Liturgical Year,” comprising meditations for Sundays and all the notable feasts of the year. The Lord remembered this faithful and earnest worker in permitting him to see the success which crowned his many efforts, for which the diocese of St. Hyacinthe owes him a debt of gratitude, only to be repaid by continuing in the noble work so ably mapped out for them. Bishop Joseph Larocque died November 18th, 1887.

McDonald, Hon. James, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, was born at East River, Pictou county, N.S., 1st July, 1828. His family were among the first Scotch Highlanders who came to Nova Scotia one hundred years ago. They established at Pictou a thoroughly Scottish community which bears their impress legibly to this day. The chief justice had very few educational or inherited advantages to help him in his early days, but he possessed a splendid physique, unfailing good-temper and kindliness, great shrewdness and common sense, and laudable ambition. He obtained his preliminary education at New Glasgow, the second town in Pictou county, being the seat of valuable collieries, glass-works and other manufactories, and one of the most flourishing and progressive spots in the province. After completing his course, he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1851. He at once obtained a good practice, and gained a considerable reputation as a platform speaker. He always took a great interest in politics, being a staunch Conservative. He first came to the front as a political candidate in 1859 when he successfully contested Pictou county in the general election of that year. The Conservative party were fast gaining strength and bidding again for the political supremacy which had been denied them for many years. Among the rising men was Dr. Charles Tupper, a bold and fluent orator, and a man of great administrative force and tact. Hon. J. W. Johnson, attorney-general and facile princeps in his party for so many years, was getting old and unfit for a hard campaign. Sir William Young had been made chief justice, and other prominent Liberals were dropping out of the ranks. Railways were building and there was an impetus thereby given to the general hopefulness of the country. There were hot debates in the House of Assembly where such men as A. G. Archibald, Thomas Morrison, and Jonathan McCully strove for the reins of power. Hon. Mr. McDonald again offered, in 1863, when his party achieved a great victory at the polls. He was appointed by Dr. Tupper, provincial secretary and premier, to the position of chief railway commissioner for Nova Scotia, in June, 1863, and held this office until December, 1864. In December, 1864, he was appointed to a seat in the government with the portfolio of financial secretary. The celebrated conferences of Charlottetown and Quebec were held in the summer of 1864. There the preliminaries of confederation were discussed. At the latter conference Nova Scotia was represented by Dr. Tupper, Hon. W. A. Henry, now of the Supreme Court of Canada, Jonathan (afterwards Judge) McCully, and Hon. R. B. Dickey, senator. The next few months were times of fierce political debate in the maritime provinces. Confederation was consummated 1st July, 1867, and was shortly afterwards followed by general elections in the provinces and in the Dominion. The Conservatives were routed at the polls. Dr. Tupper won his election in Cumberland county, defeating Hon. William Annand by the narrow majority of 66. Not a single Conservative member followed him to Ottawa on his first appearance there. Among the defeated was the subject of this sketch, who stood for Pictou. But previous to this time, and during 1865 and 1866, he had been appointed a commissioner, representing his native province, to negotiate towards opening trade relations between the West Indies, Mexico and Brazil and the British American provinces. In prosecution of this mission he did some travelling in the Antilles. In 1867 he was made a Queen’s counsel. During the last years of his residence and practice at the bar in Halifax, the city barristers, on his attaining to the twenty-fifth year of his practice presented him with a silk gown accompanied by an appreciative and friendly address. In thanking the gentlemen of the long robe for their courtesy, he remarked that he was much touched by their kindness, but that the incident carried with it one element of regret in that it reminded him that he was growing old. The chief justice, however, enjoys robust health, and has probably many years before him. During these times he was working up one of the best-known practices in Nova Scotia. He had become associated in Pictou with Samuel G. Rigby (since Judge of the Supreme Court, a man who died two years ago greatly regretted while yet little over forty years of age), and removed to Halifax, establishing the firm of McDonald & Rigby. They generally had in their office six students and copyists, and their practice extended throughout the province. S. G. Rigby is believed to have been the peer of any nisi prius lawyer who ever held a brief in Nova Scotia. James McDonald was skilled in all the arts of a cross-examiner and jury lawyer, whilst as a chambers counsel he was unsurpassed by any. Mr. Rigby generally went the Midland and Eastern circuits, where he never wanted a client. At the general election held in the summer of 1872, Hon. Mr. McDonald again contested Pictou for the House of Commons, and this time successfully. He was a strong supporter of Sir John A. Macdonald. The Pacific Scandal burst out in 1873, and in the debate in the Commons he made one of the strongest defences of the government. He was defeated at the general election of 1874, when the Reform government seized the reins of power, but fought a hard campaign in Pictou. At the general election in 1878 he returned with his party to power, and was made minister of justice. This appointment he held with credit until 20th May, 1881, when the late Sir William Young having resigned, he was appointed chief justice of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia. He is also judge of the Vice-Admiralty Court. He resides at a pretty villa on the North-West Arm, Halifax, called “Blink Bonnie.” He is a member of the Halifax Club, the town resort of the elite of Nova Scotia. He married in 1856, Jane, daughter of the late William Mortimer, of Pictou, by whom he has a large family of children. One of his sons is in the North-West. Two are practising law in Halifax. Two of his daughters married sons of Sir Charles Tupper, viz., Charles H. Tupper, M.P. for Pictou county, and William J. Tupper, who saw service with the Halifax battalion during the North-West rebellion. The Chief Justice resides chiefly in Halifax but occasionally goes on circuit. His judgments are marked by great liberality and breadth of view. He has befriended many young men in their struggles to get a profession, and is an openhearted, openhanded man. No finer specimen of the Pictou Scotchman could be picked out than “Jim McDonald,” as he was familiarly, though respectfully called, during his long career, at the bar and in politics. Hon. Mr. McDonald is a member of St. Matthew’s Presbyterian Church, Halifax.

Merritt, Jedediah Prendergast, St. Catharines, Ontario. The subject of this biographical sketch is the eldest son of the late Hon. William Hamilton Merritt, the well-known pioneer of the most prominent part of the peninsula of western Canada, and the originator and principal actor in obtaining the completion of the Welland and St. Lawrence canals, now connecting the upper lakes with the Atlantic ocean. Mr. Merritt was born at St. Catharines, county of Lincoln, on the 1st of June, 1820, and the whole of his life has been devoted to the material and æsthetical occupations which make history for the western hemisphere. At an early period he represented his native country as a student at Cambridge, England, and upon his return his further representation consisted in being familiar with English and continental society as it was associated with scholastic and political economy. His father, by the force of daily events, was engaged in promoting public important Canadian interests, whether included in commercial, political, or educational enterprises; and his son, being well qualified by natural and acquired attainments, gave these enterprises the advantage of his presence both at the desk and by his advice in the halls of the legislature. In 1860 he was appointed by a vote of parliament to a position now known as archivist. He collected the ten thousand folio pages of historical matter as put upon record by the lives of pioneers in Canada prior and subsequent to the revolutionary war. Whether, accordingly, information of large or small moment to families of the United Empire class or its government, or to families generally of Canada or the United States be required, it is derivable through the labors of the gentleman whose name is before us. Such a task as this brought into requisition varied talents and an unceasing industry for a number of years, and so suggestive of utility was his report that parliament renewed an engagement with him. The qualities of patriotism and generosity characterised his proceedings, for he not only gave his assistant the appropriation made for the purpose, but without opposition he permitted the adoption of a title which directs a searcher after knowledge formulated under his guidance to go to the Coventry Documents. On the 1st of May, 1845, he was appointed postmaster at St. Catharines, an office which he retained for a period of eighteen years. Mr. Merritt has distinguished himself both in poetry and prose. At an early age, and while at school, a taste for literature and science distinctly spoke out. And subsequently his poetical genius shone out in many effusions relating to his own and other countries, and in such as passed fitting encomiums upon the noble qualities of patriotism and valor. A poem written as a memento of the visit of the Duke of Kent to Canada received a distinguished acknowledgment from the Prince of Wales, his Grace the Duke of Newcastle, and the Earl of St. Germans. Many odes are also well known; among them may be found that “On the Opening of Victoria Bridge” by the Prince of Wales; “Ho, for Manitoba;” “Ontario;” those on the battles of “Lundy’s Lane”—“Crook’s Mills”—“River Rasin;”—that read by the Loyal Canadian Society at its anniversary picnic at Queenston Heights; “The rise and progress of St. Catharines,” in prose, and concluded in verse. Besides others in number to fill a volume, which fail to receive a notice here. The public journals of the day, for many years past, evidence by their columns that Mr. Merritt’s study and influence upon subjects of administrative policy and scientific economy have given to the public as much of instruction as of entertainment. An ingenious historical chart published by Mr. Merritt met with the approval of the British North American Historical Society, and commendation from the Prince of Wales, who sent him an appropriate medal. When decimal currency was introduced into Canada, Mr. Merritt brought before the legislature a system of weights and measures known as the “metric.” With these it is as easy of calculation as that of by tens with money. The government voted in its favor $50,000 to be used if necessary. Mr. Merritt’s life has been an unceasing application of advantages derivable from a patrimony, for the promotion of plans equal to the dignity and character of Canada; and his family promise to wear his mantle. He married on the 17th of August, 1864, the eldest daughter of the late George Prescott, for many years secretary and treasurer of the Welland canal, by whom he has six sons and two daughters.

Scott, Lieut.-Col. Thomas, Collector of Customs, Winnipeg, was born in Lanark county, Ontario, 16th February, 1841. He is of Irish parentage, and has proved in all the departments of activity in which he has been engaged throughout an unusually active life that he has inherited the best qualities of the Celtic race braced with the increased vigor which a fine climate and free institutions give to Canadians. The subject of this sketch was educated at the public and high schools of his native county, and at an early age entered on journalism, and when only twenty he founded a journal to advocate the principles of the Conservative party. This journal was the Perth Expositor, which under the energetic management of its founder soon became a power in the county. Two years later he married Miss Kellock, second daughter of Robert Kellock. Born with the instincts of a soldier, young Scott joined the volunteer corps of his town, at the time of the Trent affair, and shortly afterwards became its captain. No better commanding-officer or more enthusiastic militiaman was to be found in the province than he. When the Fenian raid of 1866 set the country in a ferment, Capt. Scott was one of the first to ask on behalf of himself and his company to be assigned for active service. They were ordered to the St. Lawrence frontier, where they were kept on duty for four months. For his services he was raised to the rank of major. He was next called into active service in 1870, when he was placed in command of a company of the Ontario Rifles, part of Col. (now Lord) Wolseley’s expedition to the North-West to suppress the first Riel rebellion. In the toilsome journey Major Scott distinguished himself by his power of inspiring enthusiasm in the men under his command, which won such high encomiums from the brilliant young commander of the expedition. When, just after his return, it became necessary to send another expedition to the North-West to resist the threatened Fenian invasion of Manitoba, Major Scott, raised to the rank of brevet lieutenant-colonel, was chosen to command the force. A considerable part of the journey through what was then an almost untrodden wilderness was made in winter, and the men suffered great hardships, but made their way through to Fort Garry with wonderfully few mishaps. Liking the country, and appreciating the opportunities it offered for men of pluck and energy, Col. Scott sold out his newspaper business and removed to Manitoba. He at once took a prominent part in public affairs. He first essayed in 1874 to be elected to the Legislature of Manitoba against the then premier, Hon. R. A. Davis, but was unsuccessful. Three years later, however, he became mayor of Winnipeg after a keen electoral contest, but administered affairs so satisfactorily to the people, during his year of office, that he was elected by acclamation for a second term. While still occupying the place of mayor, he was nominated for a seat in the Legislative Assembly, and was elected. The general election came on in the following year, and Col. Scott was again successful. In 1880, the seat in the House of Commons for Selkirk becoming vacant by Hon. (now Sir) Donald A. Smith being unseated, Col. Scott resigned his place in the legislature, and ran in the Conservative interest, defeating Sir Donald by 169 majority. In the general election of 1882 he again was the Conservative standard-bearer for Winnipeg, in some respects the most important political division of the province. He was triumphantly returned and served throughout that parliament. He was appointed collector of customs in 1887, which position he still holds. Lieut.-Col. Scott, while always a strong party man, and almost fiercely active in a political contest, has those qualities of generosity and kind-heartedness which make men who are his opponents his friends. He is a man beloved by the people because of his strong sympathy with them, and his manifest desire to do all in his power to defend their interests.

Ogden, William Winslow, B.M., M.D., one of the leading medical practitioners of the city of Toronto, was born in the township of Toronto, county of Peel, 3rd July, 1837. His parents were William J. Ogden, an officer in the militia of York county in those days, and Rebecca Ogden. His father was descended from old English stock, traceable as far back as the time of Charles the Second. One of his ancestors, performed distinguished services for this fickle monarch at a critical period of his career, and received at his hands in return important recognition, and the coat armor now held by his descendants. The doctor’s mother was from Ireland, and has been dead over twenty years, but his father, now in his eighty-sixth year, is still alive, and resides near Port Credit. Dr. Ogden received such primary education as the schools of his native place supplied in those early days, and then went to the Toronto Academy (since extinct), at that time connected with Knox College. He afterwards attended, until he was eighteen years of age, Victoria College, taking the ordinary arts course, and from this until he reached the age of twenty-two, he attended the Toronto School of Medicine, taking at the same time several special subjects in natural science in the University of Toronto. He graduated in honors in medicine from Toronto University in 1860, and at a later date in the same science from Victoria College, Cobourg. He then settled in Toronto, in which city he has ever since successfully practised his profession. In 1869 Dr. Ogden was appointed lecturer on medical jurisprudence and toxicology in Toronto School of Medicine, and lectured on these subjects, and that of diseases of children, from that date until 1887, when, on the creation of the medical faculty of Toronto University, he was appointed professor of forensic medicine, which includes toxicology and medical psychology. He takes a deep interest in all educational matters, and has been a member of the public school board continuously since 1866, a period of twenty-two years. He is always found at his post, is generally a member of all important committees, for two years was chairman of the board, and no one rejoices more than the worthy doctor at the great progress our schools have made since he first began to take an active interest in their management. Being a public spirited gentleman, he is deeply interested in everything that helps to improve the social and material condition of his countrymen. He is a member of the Middlesex lodge, Sons of England Benevolent Society, and its medical examiner in the beneficiary department, is president of the Royal Oak Building and Savings Society, and of the Sons of England Hall Company of Toronto. For many years, till recently, he was an active member of the Toronto Reform Association, and for a long time was its vice-president. Ever since the Brown-Cameron struggle, in 1858, he has taken an active part in all the political contests held in Toronto, and had the distinction of being nominated as the Reform candidate for the Ontario legislature in 1879, but, although he succeeded in greatly reducing the majority generally polled against the Reform candidate, he failed to secure his own election. In religion, Dr. Ogden was brought up in, and has always taken a deep interest in, the Methodist form of worship, and for over thirty years has held the office of leader in the Methodist church. He has been a member of all the general conferences save one, and of the annual conferences up to the present. He supported and voted for the union of the several Methodist bodies, and was well pleased when the union took place. In politics, it is almost needless to say, he is a staunch Reformer, and has during his long and useful life sacrificed largely in time and labor to advance the cause he has so much at heart. On the 27th May, 1862, he was married, to Elizabeth Price, daughter of the late William McKown, and niece of the late George Price, who died in 1880.

Burrill, James, Merchant, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, is the second son of William Burrill and Catharine Sullivan, and was born on the 22nd February, 1844, at Yarmouth, N.S. He received a common school education, and on the retirement of his father in 1869, succeeded to his business, in company with his two brothers, and they now trade under the style of William Burrill & Co. The firm is largely interested in shipping. Mr. Burrill, the subject of our sketch, is a member of the Board of Trade, and since 1876 he has had a seat on the Board of School Trustees. In 1880 he was elected councillor for Milton, and was re-elected to the same position in 1882, 1884, and 1886. He was chosen warden of the municipality of Yarmouth in 1884, and again elected to the same office in 1886. Mr. Burrill takes an interest in all social reforms and belongs to the order of the Sons of Temperance and to the Temple of Honor. In politics he is a Liberal, and in religion he belongs to the Presbyterian church. Though comparatively young in years, he has devoted a good deal of time for the benefit of his fellow-citizens, among whom he is highly respected as he deserves to be. On the 20th September, 1887, he was married to Jane J., eldest daughter of George H. Lovitt.

Murray, Lieut.-Col. John Robert, Superintendent of Stores and Paymaster of Military district, No. 9, Halifax, was born at Halifax, N.S., February 9th, 1836, and is the eldest son of Thomas Murray of Dartmouth, N.S., (born February 11, 1811), and Caroline Maria Tapper of Blandford, England (born March 5, 1813), who married at Halifax, December 6, 1834. Col. Murray was educated at the National School and the Grammar School (Academy) Halifax, and early entered into mercantile pursuits. He became interested eventually in the hardware business as a partner in the firm of Boggs & Ross, and Thos. Boggs & Co. Colonel Murray served his native town for three years as an alderman for Ward 1, from 1872, and was a justice of the peace for the town. As a young man, he took an active interest in the militia, and this strengthened with each succeeding year. His connection with the militia of Nova Scotia and the Dominion covers a period of over twenty-nine years, and for over a quarter of a century he has held her Majesty’s commissions, viz:—In the 3rd Queen’s, N.S. militia, second lieutenant, February 5, 1863; first lieutenant, June 10, 1863; captain, December 11, 1864; adjutant, July 14, 1865, in the 66th Princess Louise Fusiliers; captain, June 18, 1869; brevet major, September 20, 1872; brevet lieutenant-colonel, December 12, 1874. On February 1, 1884, he was appointed to the district staff, and has since filled the offices of store-keeper and district paymaster, in a most satisfactory manner. In religion he is a Presbyterian, being a member of St. Andrew’s Church. He is a pleasant, agreeable citizen, a good soldier, and a splendid officer. He was married, September 19, 1861, to Eliza Jane, eldest daughter of the late James Reeves of Halifax, and has had issue five children, of whom three survive: James Reeves, who occupies the position of accountant in the Nova Scotia Sugar Refinery, Halifax; Charles Grant, gentleman cadet at the Royal Military College, Kingston, and George William, who is a student at the Halifax Medical College.

Lawson, Professor George, Ph.D., LL.D., F.I.C., F.R.S.C., Halifax, N.S., was born at Newport, parish of Forgan, Fifeshire, Scotland, 12th October, 1827. He is the only son of Alex. Lawson, of a family long resident in the county, and his wife, Margaret McEwen, daughter of Colin McEwen, for many years a civic officer in the town of Dundee. He was educated at a private school, and after several years of private study and law-reading, entered the University of Edinburgh, devoting his attention specially to the natural and physical sciences—chemistry, botany, zoology, anatomy, mineralogy, and geology. His studies at Edinburgh extended over a period of ten years, during which time he was also occupied with scientific and literary work in connection with the university and several of the scientific institutions of that city. He occupied the position of curator of the university herbarium, until it was removed from the university building to the Royal Botanic Garden, and was thus early brought into personal contact and correspondence with the leading botanists of the time. He assisted the professor of botany, Dr. Balfour, in his class-work and field and mountain excursions, and, as demonstrator under the professor’s direction, conducted a select class in histology for advanced students, teaching the practical use of the microscope and the methods of research in regard to the minute structure and development of plants. This class, formed in the Herbarium room at the Royal Botanic Garden, in Edinburgh, in 1853, was one of the first, if not the first organization of the kind in Britain corresponding to what are now known as biological laboratories. This Edinburgh Botanical Laboratory is now greatly extended and well supplied with recent improvements in apparatus and implements of research. On the death of Dr. Fleming, professor of natural science in the New College, Edinburgh, Dr. Lawson, in conjunction with the late Andrew Murray, continued the lectures through the winter session. He prepared, and carried through the press, the catalogue of the library of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, a work which was thus noticed by Sir R. Christison in his presidential address: “The council, in noticing the completion of this important labor, cannot express too highly the sense they entertain of the services of Dr. Lawson, who has applied himself to the task put before him with a zeal, diligence, method, and ability which led the council to congratulate themselves and the society on the choice which was made in appointing him.” He acted as secretary for several other societies, being joint secretary with the late Sir Wyville Thomson, of the Royal Physical Society. Being an adherent of the Church of Scotland, he was an active member of the High Church of Edinburgh. In the year 1858 Dr. Lawson accepted the appointment of professor of chemistry and natural history in Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, and relinquished the several offices held in Edinburgh. On leaving that city for Canada, a number of the professors of the university and members of societies, including Professor Balfour, Sir R. Christison, Sir J. Y. Simpson, Sir J. Gibson-Craig, Sir A. Douglas Maclagan, Professor Wilson, Sir A. Fayrer, and others, presented him with a purse of sovereigns and a silver salver bearing the following inscription—“Presented to Dr. George Lawson (along with a purse of sovereigns), on the occasion of his departure from Great Britain, to fill the chair of chemistry and natural history in Queen’s College, Kingston, Canada, by some of his friends, who desire thus to testify their high esteem and regard for him, and their appreciation of the services which he has rendered to science in Edinburgh. 5th August, 1858.” One of the speakers at the farewell meeting (father of the professor of botany in the Dublin College of Science), remarked as a reason for the presentation: “We do not know what the Canadians may think of you, but we want them to know what we think of you here.” At Queen’s College, a new laboratory and class-rooms for medical teaching being in course of construction, Dr. Lawson organized there a system of practical laboratory teaching similar to that then in operation by Drs. Wilson and Macadam at Edinburgh. The college grounds were laid out as a botanic garden, and the Botanical Society of Canada was formed, chiefly through his exertions. Whilst at Kingston, he acted as an examiner at Toronto University. In consequence of the disturbed state of affairs in Queen’s College, in 1863, Dr. Lawson resigned his position there, and accepted the professorship of chemistry and mineralogy in Dalhousie College and University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, then being reorganized, and which he still holds. Soon after his arrival in Nova Scotia, a board of agriculture was established by the provincial government, and he was elected secretary. He continued to discharge the duties of that office from 1864 till 1885, when the board was abolished, and its duties assumed directly by the provincial government. His services were retained under the new arrangement as secretary for agriculture of the province. In 1857 Dr. Lawson took the degree of Ph.D. at the University of Giessen. In 1863 the University of McGill College, Montreal, conferred upon him the honorary degree of LL.D. He is a fellow, and at present president, of the Royal Society of Canada; fellow of the Botanical and Royal Physical Societies of Edinburgh; of the Institute of Chemistry of Great Britain and Ireland; honorary member of the Edinburgh Geological and Scottish Arboricultural Societies; corresponding member of the Royal Horticultural Society of London, and of the Society of Natural Sciences at Cherbourg; also member of the following: British Association for Advancement of Science, American Association for Advancement of Science, Royal Scottish Society of Arts, Nova Scotian Institute of Natural Science, Historical Society, Ottawa Naturalists’ Club, etc.; associate of the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers. Dr. Lawson’s contributions to scientific literature have been published chiefly in the transactions of societies and scientific periodicals, as in “Transactions” respectively of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh, Royal Society of Canada, Nova Scotian Institute of Natural Science, and in the “Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal,” the “London Phytologist,” the “Annals and Magazine of Natural History,” the “Canadian Naturalist,” the “Chemical News,” etc. A separate work on “Water-lilies,” and one on “British Agriculture,” were published in Edinburgh. During his residence there he was a frequent contributor to “Chambers’s Edinburgh Journal,” and other literary periodicals in London and Edinburgh, and he edited and rewrote a portion of one of the editions of “Chambers’s Information for the People.” He married, in Edinburgh, Lucy, daughter of Charles Stapley, of Vale Cottage, Tunbridge Wells, and King’s road, Chelsea, who died on 1st January, 1871, leaving two daughters. At Halifax, in 1876, he married Caroline Matilda, daughter of William Jordan, Rosehall, Halifax, sister of Rev. Louis H. Jordan, M.A., B.D., Montreal, and widow of George Alexander Knox, lost in the steamship City of Boston, which sailed from Halifax harbor in January, 1870.

Allison, David, M.A., LL.D., Halifax, N.S., Superintendent of Education for the province of Nova Scotia, was born at Newport, Hants county, N.S., July 3rd, 1836. His father was James W. Allison, and his mother, Margaret Elder, both Nova Scotians, but descendants of North of Ireland parents, who had settled in this province. Dr. Allison’s father and grandfather both occupied seats in the local legislature. His preliminary education was received at the Halifax Academy, and the Wesleyan Academy, Sackville, New Brunswick. After studying four years at the latter institution, he entered the Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn., U.S.A., and graduated in 1859. He then became classical instructor at Sackville Academy, and changed that position in 1862, to take a similar position in Mount Allison College. In 1869 Rev. Dr. Pickard resigned the presidency of the college, and the directorate unanimously elected Mr. Allison to the office, a tribute to his scholarship and character. He occupied the position of president for nine years, and under him the college work was very successfully and effectively performed. In the year 1877 he was appointed to the office of superintendent of education for the province of Nova Scotia, which position he still holds. Under his administration the whole system of the public schools of the province has grown and developed, till it is in the most satisfactory condition that could be desired or expected. Dr. Allison is a member of the Methodist church, and was a delegate to the congress of Methodism held in London, 1881. He married, June 18, 1862, Elizabeth Powell, of Richibucto, N.B., whose ancestors were loyalists. Dr. Allison received the degree of B.A., 1859; M.A., 1862; LL.D., from Victoria College, Cobourg, Ontario, 1873. In 1876 he was appointed a fellow of the senate of Halifax University. In his position as superintendent of education he has been broad in his views, and possesses a thorough appreciation of the high problem which is being worked out by the educational system of the province under his guardianship and direction.

Radenhurst, W. H., Barrister, Perth, Ontario, was born at Toronto on 14th September, 1835. He is the eldest son of the late Thomas M. Radenhurst, Q.C., who settled in Perth in 1824. His paternal grandfather, Thomas Radenhurst, came out from England to America in a semi-military capacity at the time of the revolutionary war. He was from Cheshire, and his mother was a sister of Lord Chief Justice Kenyon. When a youth, he was sent up to London to enter the employ of the banking firm of the Lloyds, in which his mother, who was related to them, had some interest, but he preferred to go to America with the troops then leaving for the war. At the close of the war, being stationed in Montreal, he married Ann Campbell, a daughter of a United Empire loyalist, one of the first who settled on the Bay of Quinté. An uncle of hers, Sir John Campbell, was a distinguished soldier in India. He died at Fort St. John, in early life, leaving a young family to the care of his widow, a woman of energy and capacity. She obtained commissions in the army for her two eldest sons, but her third son, Thomas, she had educated at Dr. Strachan’s school at Cornwall, and he afterwards studied law in Toronto. He commenced the practice of his profession in Kingston, from where he removed to Perth, and built up a considerable law practice. He married a daughter of Surveyor-General Ridout of Toronto. He represented the county of Carleton in the Upper Canada Legislature before the union of the provinces, and was afterwards, as the nominee of the Reform or Baldwin-Lafontaine party, an unsuccessful candidate for Lanark county. He was made a Queen’s counsel in 1849, and acted for a considerable time as Crown prosecutor in the Eastern and sometimes in the Midland Circuit. He was offered the judgeship of the Bathurst district, but declined the honor. He acted as treasurer of Lanark county for several years; and he died in 1854, in his fifty-first year, leaving a large family. The following pen and ink sketch, of Thomas M. Radenhurst, written in November, 1847, by a local scribe, signing himself “Paul Pry,” gives us a very correct idea of the deceased Queen’s counsel: —