PREFACE

In attempting to place before the public an account of the lives of the leading personages who have figured in Canadian history, from the period of the first discovery of the country down to the present times, the editor has encountered the difficulties incidental to such an undertaking. With respect to past times the principal difficulty has been one of selection. It has constantly been necessary to bear in mind the fact that the present is a Canadian, and not a mere Provincial work, and that many names must be excluded from its pages which would rightfully find a place in a Biographical Cyclopedia of a particular Province. During the period before the Conquest, for instance, there were many gallant gentlemen whose lives and achievements are pleasant to recall, and who left at least a temporary impress upon the civil, political and ecclesiastical institutions of New France. The interest in the lives of these personages, however, is for the most part confined to the inhabitants of the Lower Provinces, and only a few sketches of the lives of the more prominent among them could be admitted into the present work with due regard to their relative importance. Similar remarks are applicable to various personages who have played a not insignificant part in the history of the Maritime Provinces, and even to some who have figured in the annals of the Province of Ontario. It is believed, however, that no name of really national importance has been omitted, and that the selection has been made with due regard to the comprehensive scope of the work.

As respects the present day, it has been found necessary to adopt a much wider range. There are many living persons who, from the mere fact of their occupying more or less conspicuous positions, are entitled to notice in the work, but who would undoubtedly have had no place there by reason of their personal merits or abilities. This is an incident of every work which attempts to deal with contemporaneous biography, and it is one which can neither be ignored nor surmounted.

The four volumes comprised in The Canadian Portrait Gallery contain, in addition to the title pages and tables of contents, 960 printed pages. The number of sketches is 204. For 185 of these, containing a total of 888 pages, the editor is personally responsible. A few of them had been published in a Toronto newspaper prior to their appearance in this work, but the sketches so previously published were subjected to a thorough revision, and in most cases a good deal of important matter was added. The remaining 16 sketches, containing an aggregate of 72 pages, are the work of five valued contributors. The sketch of Sir John A. Macdonald was prepared by Mr. Charles Lindsey, of Toronto, whose "Life and Times of William Lyon Mackenzie," published nearly twenty years ago, made his name known from one end of this country to the other. The sketch of Sir George E. Cartier is the work of a writer well fitted for such an undertaking by his personal acquaintance with that gentleman during the latter's lifetime. The sketches of the Rev. Dr. Crawley, Sir Samuel Cunard, and the Hon. S. H. Holmes were contributed by the Rev. Robert Murray, editor of the Presbyterian Witness, of Halifax, N.S. The sketch of Sir Dominick Daly was written by Sir Francis Hincks, whose intimacy with Sir Dominick during that gentleman's residence in Canada, and whose active participation in the political life of the time render him peculiarly well qualified for the task. The remaining contributor is Mr. George Stewart, jr., editor of the Quebec Chronicle, a gentleman well-known to the Canadian public as the author of "Canada under the Administration of the Earl of Dufferin," and of other valuable historical and literary works. Mr. Stewart's contributions consist of the sketches of Sir S. L. Tilley, The Hons. A. G. Archibald, T. A. R. Laflamme, R. E. Caron, E. B. Chandler, J. C. Allen, C. E. B. De Boucherville, H. G. Joly, T. W. Anglin, J. J. C. Abbott, Sir William Young, Mgr. Laval, and the Most Rev. John Medley. The editor deems it right to take this opportunity of bearing public testimony to his high sense of the services of his friends above referred to, and to the pleasant nature of his relations with them during the progress of this work through the press.

With respect to the literary execution of the work, it is hoped that it will be found to maintain the promises made on its behalf in the prospectus issued towards the close of the year 1879. "In this country"—so ran the prospectus—"where political issues develop strong sympathies—and even prejudices—it is of the first importance that the sketches of public men shall be written with justice, and with entire freedom from political bias. This difficult task—difficult, more especially in the case of living persons—the editor will endeavour faithfully to discharge." It is scarcely to be expected that the editor's estimate will in every case meet with universal acceptance. It is believed, however, that no reader will dispute the fact that there has been an honest attempt to do justice to the character and actions of every man whose life is delineated in these volumes. It was a matter of course that a work of such dimensions would not pass through the press without some errors creeping into it, in spite of the utmost care in reading and correcting proofsheets. The Canadian Portrait Gallery doubtless contains many such. Several of the more important may as well be referred to in this place, as it is not proposed to issue a table of errata. The first error occurs on the very first page of the first volume, in the sketch of the present Governor-General of Canada. It is stated that Archibald, Marquis of Argyll, was brought to the scaffold during the Protectorate, for his espousal of the Royalist cause. As matter of fact the Marquis was beheaded on the 27th of May, 1661, after the Protectorate had come to an end; and his execution was due to his having intrigued with Cromwell, and engaged in a treasonable correspondence with General Monk. Another error occurs on page 53 of the third volume, in the sketch of the Hon. William Hume Blake. A tribute to the deceased Chancellor's memory is quoted as having been pronounced by the late Chancellor Vankoughnet, when as matter of fact the tribute was pronounced by the present Chief Justice Spragge. The critical reader will also notice that the surname of Sir Allan MacNab is spelled in various ways in different sketches. This can scarcely be pronounced an error, as different branches of his family spell the name in a variety of ways. It would have been preferable, however, had the spelling been uniform throughout the work. As matter of fact Sir Allan—at all events during the latter years of his life— always spelled the name as it will be found spelled in the sketch of his life contained in the fourth volume—MacNab. The ecclesiastical prefix "Most Reverend" was accidentally omitted in the title to the sketch of Archbishop Connolly; and the prefix "Sir" from the title to the sketch of Sir W. P. Howland. There are doubtless other errors which have not been detected by the editor, but it is believed that there are no others of importance.

During the passage of the work through the press, various events have occurred which affect the text as it stands, and which may appropriately be recorded here. On the 4th of January last the Judicial Bench of Ontario sustained a grievous loss by the death, at Nice, France—whither he had gone for the improvement of his health—of Chief Justice Moss. On the 28th of the same month the Hon. Mr. Letellier died at his home in the county of Kamouraska. The Rev. Dr. Punshon died in England on the 14th of April last. The services of Lord Dufferin at St. Petersburg have come to an end, and he is about to take up his abode in a diplomatic capacity at Constantinople. The Hon. F. G. Baby has ceased to be a member of the Government at Ottawa, and has accepted a seat as one of the Judges of the Court of Queen's Bench for the Province of Quebec. The Hon. James McDonald, late Minister of Justice, has succeeded Sir William Young as Chief Justice of Nova Scotia. The Hon. J. G. Spragge has ceased to be Chancellor of Ontario, and has become Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal. The Hon. S. H. Blake has retired from the Bench, and has resumed practice at the Ontario Bar. On the 24th of May the Hon. Hector Langevin and Chief Justice Ritchie were created Knights Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George. There have also been several other changes in the composition of the Dominion Government, but as they are understood to be of only a temporary nature, it is considered unnecessary to specify them.

Toronto, June 1st, 1881.

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