Volume 3 — THE HON. JOHN BEVERLEY ROBINSON,

LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR OF ONTARIO.

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

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

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

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