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There is no feature of
our national life more creditable to the Canadian people than the
contrast afforded by the state of society during the transition periods
of early settlement, to that which prevailed in the United States under
similar circumstances. Not only has the treatment of the Indians by the
pioneers of colonization from the days of the Pilgrims down to the
present time, been a foul blot upon the American name, but the general
lawlessness and disregard of social and religious restraints which as a
rule obtain in the newer American settlements have become proverbial. In
these communities ruffianism tempered by lynch law is generally in the
ascendant, life and property are insecure, and a low tone of morality
prevails. It is years before the lagging forces of religion, law,
education and social refinement overtake the crude rough elements of
material progress, and establish a civilization worthy of the name. In
the opening up of the Canadian North-West, law and order have been
maintained from the outset to a degree perhaps unprecedented in the
history of colonization in modern times. The missionary and the teacher
have preceded the settler, to be followed by the mounted policeman.
Crime is as rare as in any part of Canada, and lynch law unknown,
because the arm of justice is strong and far-reaching. The wise
provision excluding intoxicating liquor from the North-West Territories
has conduced in no small measure to the good order to which all
travellers through the country unite in bearing testimony. Even in
Winnipeg where this restraint is not in forte, and where the feverish
excitement of land speculation attracted an extensive floating
population, many of whom suddenly found themselves in the possession of
large amounts of money, there was never any parallel to the scandalous
license and flaunting depravity of the mushroom cities of the American
frontier, where the vices of civilization are intensified by the
law-defying recklessness of border life. To the wholesome influence of
the Scottish element which enters so largely into the directing forces
of society in the North-West, this favourable condition of public
morality is greatly due. The Scottish respect for constituted authority,
for the ordinances of religion, and the Christian code of morality,
which is instinctive with many of the old settlers as well as the more
recent arrivals, has fortunately proved a strong barrier against the
disintegrating and unsettling influences of a sudden influx of
settlement.
When the Government
resolved on the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway, it was
foreseen that unless steps were taken to conciliate the Indians, and
afford them reasonable compensation for their land, serious troubles
were likely to arise. By the loss of their hunting-grounds, the Indians
would be deprived of the means of subsistence, and would seek to appease
at once their hunger and their resentment by raids on the more exposed
settlements. Retaliation by the whites would be certain to follow, with
the inevitable result of protracted and bloody border wars. In pursuance
of the truly wise and statesmanlike policy of even-handed justice, which
has made the Indians of Old Canada the firm friends and staunch
defenders of British institutions, the Government undertook to
extinguish the Indian H title to the land by inducing the various tribes
to voluntarily surrender their claims in return for annuities and other
benefits. Between the years 1871 and 1877, a series of treaties were negotiated
with the Ojibbeways, Crees, Saulteaux, Blackfeet and other tribes, the
effect of which was to secure from all the Indians, inhabiting the
regions to be thrown apart for settlement between Lake Superior and the
Rocky Mountains, a formal cession of their rights in the soil, with the
exception of the reservations set apart for their occupation. Nearly all
of those engaged in the delicate and responsible task of conducting the
treaty negotiations with the aborigines were of Scottish birth or
extraction. Mr. Wemyss McKenzie Simpson, as Indian Commissioner, acting
in conjunction with Lieutenant-Governor Archibald, was instrumental in
concluding treaties with the Indians of Manitoba, by which the
aboriginal title to that province, and a large adjacent region was
extinguished. The subsequent treaties with the Indians occupying the
country further west, were the work of Lieutenant-Governors Morris and
Laird, assisted by a number of gentlemen whose knowledge of the country,
and acquaintance with Indian peculiarities rendered their services of
great value. Prominent among these were Hon. W. J. Christie, a retired
factor of the Hudson Bay Company, the late Hon. James McKay, himself
partly of Indian extraction, and Mr. Simon James Dawson. And here a few
biographical details may be given concerning one whose name will always
be closely associated with the suppression of the Riel insurrection in
1870, and the early influx of settlement.
Mr. Dawson is a Scot by
birth, and connected through both parents with historic Scottish
families. By profession he is a civil engineer. He came to Canada at an
early age, and in 1851, received an important appointment in connection
with the construction of extensive works on the St. Maurice River, for
opening up the lumber regions dependent on that stream as an outlet. He
carried out the plan successfully, and in 1857 was commissioned by the
government to explore the country between Lake Superior and the
Saskatchewan, to ascertain its fitness for settlement, and the
practicability of opening up communication with it. This task being
finished, he engaged in the lumber trade on the St. Maurice for some
years. In 1868 he was entrusted with the work of constructing a road to
Red River, available for travel, until the completion of the railway
should offer a speedier and more convenient means of access. The
engineering difficulties in the way were very great—the available
resources small. The total distance is about 530 miles—forty-five of
which at the eastern, and a hundred and ten at the western end can be
travelled by waggons. The intervening three hundred and eighty miles
comprises a line of water communication through a maze of lakes and
rivers, the navigable portions of the route being frequently separated
by rocky ridges or necks of land, across which canoes or other vessels
have to be portaged. In 1870, when the expedition under Col. Garnet
Wolseley was sent against the insurgents, this route, then far from
complete, afforded the only possible means of access to Red River
through Canadian territory, and but for the energy, determination and
professional skill displayed by Mr. Dawson, in combating the
physical obstacles to the march through the wilderness, the
bloodless victory achieved by the mere presence of the troops must have
been very considerably delayed. Mr. Dawson represented Algoma in the
Ontario legislature, from 1875 until 1878, and in the latter year was
returned for the same constituency to the Dominion House of Commons—being
reelected in 1882. He is independent in politics, but has usually voted
with the ministry on important questions.
Hon. W. J.. Christie
was born at Fort Albany, East Hudson Bay, on January the 19th, 1824, his
father being a Scotsman and a chief factor of the Hudson Bay Company at
the time of its amalgamation with the Nor’-West Company. He was sent
to Scotland for his education, returning to this continent with Sir
George Simpson in 1841, and entering the Company’s service at Lake
Superior. In 1843 he went to the northern department, and was one year
at Rocky Mountain House engaged in trading with the Blackfeet. After
holding responsible positions for many years at York Factory, Fort
Churchill and Fort Pelly, he was promoted to the charge of the
Saskatchewan District, which he retained fourteen years. In 1872, upon
the reorganization of the Company’s business, he was appointed chief
factor and supervisor of the country from Fort Garry to the Arctic
circle. After making a tour of inspection, he resigned the following
year, after thirty-one years’ active service, and settled in
Brockville, Ontario—where he now resides. Mr. Christie’s tact and
good management were specially conspicuous during the Riel insurrection,
when he was in charge of the Saskatchewan District, and saved the
Company the enormous losses which would have resulted had the insurgents
assumed a hostile attitude towards them. He was appointed a commissioner
for the purpose of effecting the treaty with the Plain District Crees in
1874, and was nominated a member of the North-West Council. During his
long career he did much to promote the explorations and opening up of
the North-West, his services being acknowledged in very complimentary
terms in Capt. Palliser’s report of the expedition of 1858-9, and in
other official documents.
For several years the
Dawson route continued to afford settlers the readiest means of access
to the North-West. It was not until 1879 that the Pembina Branch
provided railway communication by way of the United States.
Nevertheless, great progress was made in the settlement of the country
by the steady influx of settlers attracted by the rich prairie lands or
anxious to participate in the prosperity evinced by the rapid growth of
Winnipeg. In 1870 that city was a village of some 215 inhabitants. It
had about 500 in 1871 and progressed continuously during the decade
until in 1881 it had attained a population of 7985. Then came the
"boom" of 1881-2, when under the influence of increased
facility of communication and the rush of emigration, business and
population went up with a sudden bound. The land speculation craze
attracted capital from all quarters and sent lots on the leading
thoroughfares up to Chicago prices. The inflation has since subsided and
business has got down to a healthier and less speculative basis. The
present population is estimated at about 30,000.
Emigration into Manitoba
and the North-West which up to 1873 had only numbered a few thousand
received a decided impetus during that year when upwards of six thousand
were added to the population from this source. There was a large influx
of settlers the year following and the area of colonization extended
beyond the Pembina Mountains, the land adjacent to the international
boundary line being largely taken up. The year 1877 witnessed the
founding of Rapid City on the Little Saskatchewan and the following year
population began to pour into the surrounding country. In order to
supply the settlements on the River Acciniboine the attempt was made to
ascend the river by steamboat far as Fort Ellice. This had previously
been considered impracticable on account of the rapids; but in May,
1879, the trip was made successfully by Captain Webber of the steamboat Manitoba.
Communication to this point being secured, a considerable
immigration to the region Eastward from Fort Ellice took place, and the
town of Birtle was founded as a distributing centre for this section.
The Sourie Plain also attracted many in search of farming lands. The
total number of immigrants for that year reached eleven thousand. In
1880 it numbered about fifteen thousand—the region of Shell River
considerably to the North of Fort Ellice being opened up for settlement.
When the Syndicate
bargain was consummated an impetus was at once given to North-West
development. Immigration was stimulated, business increased immensely,
the prices of real estate rose, and every one accepting the ratification
of the contract as a guarantee that the future of the country was
assured essayed to discount its coming prosperity. Cities and towns
sprung up everywhere—at, stations, or points which it was rumoured
were likely to be stations of the line—at places where it crossed
rivers—at the intersection of streams because of the facilities for
water communication in different directions—beside rapids because the
obstruction offered the advantage of being at the head of navigation—on
rising ground because of the benefits of an elevated site and a
commanding prospect—and in the middle of the broad prairie for the
very obvious reason that they would have plenty of room to grow. Cities
here, there, and everywhere-
Thou canst not find one
spot
Whereon no city stood.
says Shelley’s
"Queen Mab," and though there may be doubts as to its strict
accuracy as a general observation, few who had any experience of the
Manitoba boom will be disposed to question its truth as applied to that
province. These embyro communities, it is true, were for the most part
destitute even of the rudimentary blacksmith shop and tavern that form
the traditional nucleus of the Chicagos of the future. Nevertheless,
their lots were held and not unfrequently sold at prices which, as
compared with the cost of the land a year or two before, offered a
sufficiently favourable augury of their destiny to allure investors. The
moral of the "boom" of 1881-2 is as old as the story of human
credulity. Speculation ran high in connection with Winnipeg property,
but in that case there was a tangible basis of actual value - it was
simply a question of the probable extent and rapidity of the growth of a
city with an assured future. In the case of the "paper
cities," however, the very names of which have now been forgotten
by all except the luck1ess investors, no man of ordinary foresight and
intelligence ought to have been deluded into supposing that such
investments possessed any real value beyond the trifle which the land
would fetch for farm purposes. As a matter of fact not many even
of those who lost money were so deceived. The question of permanent
value was the last thing they considered. They valued their purchases
simply as counters in a gambling transaction and their only delusion was
in entertaining the idea that the public would keep up the game long
enough to enable them to win.
Along the line of the
Railway, however, a number of cities and towns grew up, the prosperity
of which rested upon a more enduring basis. The Syndicate altered the
course of the line to a more Southerly route than that at first
projected—tapping a rich agricultural region. Portage la Prairie was
reached in the spring of 1881, and by the close of that year the
population had risen from about 800 to 2,700. In September of the same
year the railway reached Brandon, 145 miles West of Winnipeg, and its
developement received a sudden impulse. The city of Emerson is another
place which has made substantial progress owing to its natural
advantages of location and the enterprise of its leading men. It had no
existence before 1874 and the following year the population numbered
about a hundred. It obtained railway communications with St. Paul in
1879, settlers at once began to flow in, and in 1881 the population had
increased to about 2,500.
According to the census
returns the population of Manitoba has increased from 18,995 in 1871 to
65,954 in 1881. Of the latter number 16,506 are of Scottish origin and
2,868 were born in Scotland. The Scottish element is considerably larger
than any other as the English by descent number 11,503, the Irish
10,173, the French 9,949, the German 8,652, and the Indians 6,767. Of
the 7,985 credited to Winnipeg, 2,470 are of Scottish origin, 2,318
English, and 1,864 Irish. The population of the North-West Territories
is given by the census of 1881 at a total of 56,446, of which 49,472 are
Indians. Of the 6,974 whites, 1,217 are of, Scottish blood.
What Manitoba owes to the
influence of the Scot, cannot be over-estimated. Her institutions are
leavened by Scottish feelings; her public sentiment moulded by Scottish
habits of thought; her business carried on largely by Scottish capital
and enterprise; her leading merchants, her foremost politicians, the
larger proportion of her principal professional men, bankers,
professors, clergy—the men of thought as well as those of action—the
guiding, governing brain forces of the nucleus from whence radiate the
lines of settlement and traffic, are of that sturdy, indomitable North
British stock, which, wherever the English language is spoken, is to be
found in the van of the march of civilization—pioneer and path-finder
for those that shall follow. Prof. Bryce, in his admirable work on
"Manitoba, Its Infancy, Growth and Present Condition," bears
the following testimony to the powerful Scottish sentiment which
prevails in the Province, and the tenacity with which the Manitoba Scots
adhere to the time-honoured observances of their forefathers, and
cherish their national spirit.
"While true to their
Canadian nationality, the strong attachment for British institutions
among the people of Canada’s youngest province is seen in the vigorous
maintenance of their national societies. The most active of these is the
St. Andrew’s Society. This is maintained to assist their indigent
fellow-countrymen, and cultivate Scottish literature and customs, not
only by Scotchmen, but as the constitution provides by the Sons of
Scotchmen, as well. Burns’ Anniversary, the Caledonian Games, and St.
Andrew’s Day Festival, are maintained with the perfervidum ingenium
characteristic of the nation." [Manitoba, Its Infancy, Growth
and Present Condition," p. 358.]
The Scottish ascendency
in politics of which those of other nationalities are sometimes disposed
to complain—forgetful that where political honours are conferred by
the people, such a complaint is an arraignment of the intelligence and
discrimination of the electors—is equally noticeable in Manitoba as in
the older provinces. Men of Scottish race mingled in not a few cases
with a strain of aboriginal blood, the discendants of Hudson Bay
officers and the Selkirk settlers together, with later arrivals of the
same stock from Canada and the old land, form a very large proportion of
the representatives of this mired community. Since the admission of the
Province to the Union, about one-half of the Manitoba members have been
Scots by birth or descent. Reference has a1ready been made to Hon. John
Sutherland, Hon. Donald A. Smith, and Mr. Robert Cunningham—the latter
a new-comer, and the two former old settlers. The leading features in
the careers of some other Scotchmen, who have represented the Prairie
Province in the Dominion Parliament may here be briefly given.
Hon. Andrew Graham
Ballenden Bannatyne was born in 1829, in South Ronaldsay, Orkney Isles;
his father being James Bannatyne, an officer of the Fishery Department.
He came to Canada at the age of twenty, and engaged with the Hudson Bay
Company, in the service of which he remained until 1851. Mr. Bannatyne
held office in the provisional government of Louis Riel, and has also
been Post-office Inspector for the Province, a member of the Council of
Assiniboia, and at a later period a member of the Executive Council for
the North-West Territories. He was elected to the House of Commons for
Provencher by acclamation, on the 31st March, 1875. Riel, who was
previously elected, having been declared an outlaw, and a new writ
issued. Mr. Bannatyne retired from parliamentary life in 1878.
Among the newer men in
Manitoba public affairs, is Mr. Arthur Wellington Ross, M.P., for Lisgar.
He is a Scottish-Canadian, being a son of Donald Ross, of East Williams,
Middlesex County. His grandfather, Arthur Ross, of the 78th Highlanders,
was one of the first settlers in the Township of Adelaide. A. W. Ross,
was born on the 25th March, 1846, in the Township of East Williams, and
completed his education at Toronto University. He was Public School
Inspector for the County of Glengarry, for about three years, ending
November, 1874, and during this period married Miss Jessie Flora
Cattanach, of Laggan, in that county. On taking up his residence in
Winnipeg, he applied himself to legal study, and was admitted as a
barrister-at-law of the Province. During the era of real estate
speculation, he invested largely in land, and as his operations were
conducted with foresight and prudence, they proved extremely profitable,
and Mr. Ross soon ranked as one of the wealthiest men in Winnipeg. He
represented Springfield in the Manitoba Legislature, from 1878 until
1882, when he resigned in order to become a candidate for the House of
Commons. In politics, Mr. Ross is a Liberal.
Two of Mr. Ross’
co-representatives in the Commons from Manitoba are also
Scottish-Canadians, and like him new members. Mr. Robert Watson, member
for Marquette, was born in Elora, Ontario, in 1853, his father being an
Edinburgh man. He is a millwright by trade. Mr. Watson went to Manitoba
in 1876, and engaged extensively in grain dealing and contracting, his
ventures proving highly successful. His political views are Liberal. Mr.
Hugh McKay Sutherland, was born in New London, P.E.I., on the 22nd of
February, 1843, his family having originally come from Sutherlandshire.
His parents removed to Oxford County, Ontario, when he was quite young.
He was engaged as Superintendent of Public Works in the North-West, from
1874 until 1878. In the latter year he settled in Winnipeg, and went
into the lumber trade. He is a member of the Liberal party.
The prevalence of the
Scottish element has been equally marked in Provincial as in Dominion
politics. On the organization of the Province of Manitoba, the class of
old residents comprising the Hudson Bay Company officials—active or
retired—and their descendants, together with the Scots of Kildonan,
furnished most of the available legislative material. The Scottish
predominance in the management of the affairs of the Hudson Bay Company,
has already been fully dwelt upon. It was some years before the newer
arrivals secured the ascendency in Manitoba politics, and largely
displaced the Hudson Bay connection, and the native North-Westerners as
popular representatives. It is significant that this change, so far as
it has been accomplished, still leaves men of Scottish blood in the
foremost political positions, as shown by the salient circumstance that
three out of the five Manitoba representatives in the Dominion
Parliament are Scottish Canadians of recent immigration.
Though the effect of the
influx of population has been to change the complexion of the Manitoba
legislature, it is noteworthy that the premier of the province is one of
the old regime. Hon. John Norquay, is of mixed Scottish and Indian
blood, the latter element being strongly manifested in his aboriginal
cast of features, while the qualities of his paternal ancestry have been
conspicuously manifested in his career. On his father’s side he is of
Orcadian descent, his grandfather having come to the North-West from the
Island of South Ronaldsay. His father also named John Norquay, was a
native of Red River. The Hon. John Norquay was born on the 8th of May,
1841, and received as good an education as the settlement afforded,
taking a scholarship at St. John’s academy in 1854. He was returned as
a member of the first Manitoba Parliament, for the constituency of High
Bluff, and in December, 1871, was appointed to a cabinet position with
the portfolio of Minister of Public Works and Agriculture. He resigned
along with his colleagues in July, 1874, but did not remain long out of
office. He joined the administration of Hon. R. A. Davis the following
year, and was assigned to the post of Minister of Public Works in May,
1876. Upon the defeat of the Davis ministry in October, 1878, he was
called upon to form a new administration in conjunction with Hon. Joseph
Royal. Mr. Norquay became Premier and Provincial Treasurer. A
disagreement shortly afterwards occurred between the Premier and his
colleagues, Messrs. Royal and Delorme, which led to the resignation of
the two latter. Several changes were subsequently made in the
personnel of the ministry. The Norquay administration was sustained
in the general election of October, 1879—a re-distribution of
constituencies having previously been made. It was considerably
strengthened by the accession of Senator Girard and Hon. Maxime Goulet,
representing the French element, and has since remained in power.
Mr.Norquay, since 1874, has represented the constituency of St.
Andrew’s. The most important measures of his administration have been
the introduction of municipal organizations, the adoption of an
extensive system of drainage, by which large districts of swampy and
low-lying lands have been reclaimed, and the extension of the provincial
boundaries, which has given Manitoba the area of a first-class province.
Mr. Norquay’s course in connection with the latter question, in
its more recent phases, has excited a good deal of feeling against him
in Ontario. In commenting upon his course, however, it must in fairness
be remembered that as Premier of Manitoba, he has acted strictly in the
interests of the province, whose welfare he is pledged to advance, and
to whose people alone he is responsible. It does not fall within the
scope of the present work to enter into the elaborate technical details
of the vexed Boundary Award question, and the respective
rights of the authorities which have come into collision on this
debateable ground. But, whatever be the upshot, the representatives of
Manitoba cannot reasonably be blamed for taking advantage of party
dissensions at Ottawa and Toronto, to increase the territory of their
province. The current political morality of the most enlightened nations
has never risen to the lofty plane of voluntarily renouncing an
advantage, because its acceptance involved an injustice to other
communities. The Golden Rule finds no place among the maxims of
diplomacy and, judged by the ordinary standards of political ethics, Mr.
Norquay has acted strictly within the line of his duty to his province
in pushing her claims. If the final settlement of the question results
to the detriment of the strong, but divided Province of Ontario, the
Manitoba Premier at any rate will stand guiltless of treachery to a
cause to which he owes no allegiance and professed no devotion.
The political lines have
not been very strictly defined in Manitoba until the last few years. The
tendency at first was to subordinate party divisions to the interests of
the province, and for some time the designations of Conservative and
Reformer sat loosely upon many of the public men of the province. Of
late, however, the identification of the interests of the Norquay
administration with those of the Conservative ministry at Ottawa, and
the strong party feeling of many of the new settlers from the older
provinces, have drawn the lines of party more tightly. The Norquay
administration is now strictly Conservative, and the political lines of
cleavage in local matters coincide with the divisions of Dominion
politics. Some of the more prominent of those of Scottish origin, who
have taken part in provincial affairs, may now be sketched in outline.
Hon. James McKay was the
eldest son of Mr. James McKay, of Sutherlandshire, who was for many
years in the service of the Hudson Bay Company. He was born at
Edmonton House, Saskatchewan, and received his education at the Red
River settlement. He was for some time in the employ of the Hudson Bay
Company and afterwards went into business on his own account as a
contractor. He superintended the construction of a portion of the
Dawson route. On the creation of the Province of Manitoba he was called
to the Legislative Council, occupying the Speaker’s chair for several
years. He was appointed a member of the first provincial administration,
organized in January, 1871, with the office of president of the
Executive Council—which office he retained until the resignation of
the ministry in December, 1874. Shortly afterwards he became Minister of
Agriculture in the Government formed by Hon. R. A. Davis, from which
post he retired in 1878 owing to the lingering illness from which he
died on the 3rd of December, 1879. Owing to his known integrity and
straightforwardness of character and his thorough acquaintance with the
aboriginal nature he possessed great influence over the Indians and
half-breeds which enabled him to render valuable services in connection
with the various treaties by which the Indian title to the country was
extinguished. He was married in June, 1859 to Margaret, the third
daughter of Chief Factor Rowan of the Hudson Bay Company.
Another prominent member
of the Manitoba Legislature who has passed away was Hon. Donald Gunn, a
Scot by birth and descended from the clan whose name he bore. Born in
the parish of Falkirk, Caithness-shire, in September, 1797, he came to
the North-West in 1813 to engage in the service of the Hudson Bay
Company in which he remained ten years, being stationed at York Factory,
Severn and Oxford House. In July, 1819, he married Margaret the daughter
of Mr. James Swain, of York Factory. On resigning his position in 1823,
he settled at Red River. For upwards of twenty years he was one of the
Judges of the Court of Petty Sessions, a portion of the time being
president of the court. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the
Manitoba Legislature in the constituency of St. Andrew’s at the
general election of 1870 and was nominated to the Legislative Council
when that body was instituted. He held his seat until the abolition of
the Council in 1876. Mr. Gunn was an enthusiastic naturalist, and by
years of close observation and study had rendered himself thoroughly
versed in the natural history of the North-West. He contributed numerous
papers on this subject to the "Miscellaneous Collections of the
Smithsonian Institution," and other publications. He was a
corresponding member of the latter body and of the Institute of Rupert’s
Land, and a member of the Board of Management of Manitoba College. He
died at St. Andrew’s on the 30th of November, 1878.
Hon. Colin Inkster, who
succeeded Hon. James McKay as Speaker of the Legislative Council and
President of the Executive Council, is another representative of the
class which supplied so large a proportion of the public men of Manitoba
during the early days of the province. His father, John Inkster, was a
native of the Orkney Isles and a Hudson Bay official, who in 1852 was
appointed a Councillor of Assiniboia. Colin Inkster was born in the Red
River settlement in 1843. He contested Lisgar unsuccessfully in the
Conservative interest in 1871, and on the organization of the
short-lived Legislative Council, was appointed one of its members. He
resigned office in 1876 to accept a shrievalty.
Alexander Murray, M.P.P.,
for Assiniboia, is the only son of the late Mr. James Murray, one of the
original Selkirk sett1ers, and was born in Kildonan on April 18th, 1839.
He received his education at St. John’s College, where, in 1857, he
took a scholarship. Mr. Murray who is a Conservative in politics and a
strong supporter of the Pacific Railway policy of the present
administration, was first returned to the legislature for St. Charles in
1874, and has been a member ever since, excepting during a short
interval in 1878, when he occupied the position of Police Magistrate for
the County of East Marquette.
Hon. Gilbert McMicken,
who occupied the position of Speaker of the Legislative Assembly from
1880 until the general election of 1883, was born in Wigtonshire,
Scotland, in 1813. He came to Canada in his nineteenth year, and has
occupied numerous responsible public positions in Ontario. He was for
many years a resident in the Niagara District where he held several
municipal offices, and represented Welland County in the Legislative
Assembly of Canada from 1857 to 1861. Mr. McMicken’s scientific
attainments enabled him to effect two important improvements in
telegraphy, which were patented in 1847. He was also the first to span
the Niagara River with a wire. He was appointed Stipendiary Magistrate
for Canada West during the American Civil War, receiving the special
thanks of Lord Monck for the efficient discharge of this responsible
duty. During the Fenian excitement he was Commissioner of Police for the
Dominion, and his arrangements for discovering the plans of the Fenians
contributed greatly to the repulse of the raiders in 1870. He performed
a similar service in connection with the contemplated Fenian attack on
Fort Garry, during Lieut.-Governor Archibald’s term. He had charge of
the Dominion Lands office in Manitoba from the time it was opened, and
held the position of Assistant Receiver-General and other official posts
until superannuated in 1877. Mr. McMicken was returned for Cartier as a
Conservative in 1880, and held his seat until the last general
election.
Hon. John H. McTavish,
one of the members of the first Manitoba Parliament, is Scottish
Canadian, having been horn at Grafton, Ontario, in 1887. He came to Red
River in the service of the Hudson Bay Company, at the age of nineteen.
During Riel’s insurrection, he had charge of the business of the
Company at the settlement. He was returned for St. Anne by acclamation
at the first general election, and retained his seat until April 3rd,
1874, when he was appointed a member of the Executive Council for the
North-West Territories. In politics, he takes the Conservative side.
Among other ex-members of
the Provincial Legislature of Scottish origin, may be mentioned, Mr.
Kenneth McKenzie, a native of Inverness-shire, who represented Portage
La Prairie between 1874 and 1880; John Gunn, son of the Hon. Donald
Gunn, who sat for North St. Andrews from 1874 to 1878; David Spence, who
represented Poplar Point, in the first Legislature; William Robert Dick,
a Scot-Canadian, born in Ernesttown, Ont., elected for Springfield, in
1874; Angus McKay, a brother of Hon. James Mackay, and member for Lake
Manitoba for the years ’70-’78; John Taylor, of Orcadian descent,
representative of Headingly, 1874-78; and John Aldham Kyte Drummond, son
of the late Lieut.-Col. Drummond, of Kingston, who sat for High Bluff
for 1878-80.
Hon. Alexander Macbeth
Sutherland, the present Attorney-General of the Province, is the third
son of Senator Sutherland. His mother Jeannette Macbeth, was a daughter
of the late John Macbeth, one of the early Selkirk settlers. He was born
at Point Douglass in 1849, and completed his education at Toronto
University, where he graduated in 1876. He was returned for Kildonan in
1878, and has represented that constituency in the legislature ever
since. Mr. Sutherland entered the Norquay cabinet as Attorney General,
in September, 1882.
Among the accessions to the legislature
at the last election, are Charles Hay, Member for Norfolk, born in the
Orkney Islands, in 1843, who settled in Manitoba in 1862, a member of
the mercantile firm of Campbell, Hay & Boddy, of Portage La Prairie,
an Independent, and Finlay McNaughton Young, who represents Turtle
Mountain, born in Chateauguay County, Quebec, of Scottish parentage, who
is opposed to the Norquay administration.
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