A Cyclopaedia of Canadian Biography: Being Chiefly Men of the Time by Rose

clerk of the peace in 1877, on the elevation of Mr. Armour to the bench, joined him in 1860. They have the largest practice in the united counties of Northumberland and Durham. He entered the town council in 1862, and served as a councillor for five years. In 1867 he was elected mayor, and was elected five times in succession by acclamation to the same office. On presenting himself for the sixth time he was opposed, but, after a hot contest, in which he was supported by the leaders of both political parties, he was re-elected by 175 majority. Although frequently urged to enter into political life, it was not until 1874, on Mr. Armour’s (now Mr. Justice Armour) refusing the Liberal nomination for the House of Commons, that he consented to do so, when he entered the field about three weeks before the election, and defeated the Hon. James Cockburn, the Speaker of the House of Commons, by 231 majority. He was unseated, however, on petition, but was re-elected over the Hon. Sidney Smith, ex-postmaster-general, by 155 majority. He was an unsuccessful candidate in 1878, 1882, and 1885, being defeated by narrow majorities, owing to the influence of the so-called national policy and the opportune building of government works in his constituency, in the years 1882 and 1885. In politics he is a strong Liberal, and a warm admirer of the Hon. Edward Blake. For many years past he has been one of the most active Liberals in the united counties of Northumberland and Durham, taking part in all election contests in West Northumberland, and lending a helping hand whenever occasion required in the neighboring ridings. He was president of the Liberal Association of West Northumberland from 1878 to 1882, and is vice-chancellor of Victoria University, to which position he has been twice elected by the almost unanimous vote of the graduates. He married Myra, third daughter of the late John Field, a well known and highly respected merchant of Cobourg, and sister of John C. Field, ex-M.P.P., and C. C. Field, M.P.P. Has seven children, four sons and three daughters. * * * * * =David, Laurent Olivier=, Barrister, Montreal, M.P.P. for Montreal East, was born at Sault-au-Récollet, county of Hochelaga, near Montreal, on the 24th of March, 1840. His father was Major Stanislas David, of Sault-au-Récollet. Young David was educated at the Seminary of Ste. Thérèse, in which institution he underwent a thorough course of classical studies. On his leaving college he entered the law office of Mousseau & Labelle, and was admitted to practice at the bar of the province of Quebec, in August, 1864. Like the majority of the French Canadian youths who leave college possessing high class and interesting lore, but totally unfit for the battle of life, Mr. David had to fight his way through the world without help. As he had a natural _penchant_ for writing, and a facile pen, he soon made his way to the press and was an able and welcome contributor to the daily newspapers and periodicals of the time. In 1870, when George E. Desbarats, a son of the Queen’s printer, founded _L’Opinion Publique_, a twelve-page pictorial weekly, he was chosen as chief editor of the publication, and a better choice could hardly be made. The paper was published until 1884, when it collapsed, owing to various causes, after having reached a subscription list of over fifteen thousand. It may be said that the newspaper failed on account of having received too much encouragement, because in the province of Quebec as elsewhere, a great number seem to think that when they have subscribed for a newspaper, it does not matter much to the publisher and editor whether the subscription is paid or not. Among the _collaborateurs_ to _L’Opinion Publique_ may be more especially mentioned the Hon. J. A. Chapleau, the late Hon. Justice Mousseau, A. C. DeCelles, the present chief librarian of parliament, C. A. Dansereau, the brilliant and gifted editor of _La Presse_, and many others. In 1874, Mr. David, in conjunction with Mr. Beausoleil, founded _Le Bien Public_, a daily paper published in the interests of the Liberal party, taking the place of _Le Pays_, the organ of the advanced liberals of the province of Quebec, which had been founded on the ruins of _L’Avenir_, the first Liberal paper of note in Canada, published by Messrs. Dorion, and having on its staff at different periods, N. Aubin, L. A. Dessaulles, Joseph Doutre, and a score of other Liberal writers. _Le Bien Public_ was in turn superseded by _Le National_, founded by the late Hon. M. Laframboise, who lost both his money and his health in the enterprise, and was finally rewarded by his party with an appointment to the bench a few years before his death. _La Patrie_ was the next journalistic Liberal venture, in 1879, and, for a wonder, it proved a financial success under the energetic and able management of Honoré Beaugrand. _Le Temps_ also came out as an exponent of liberal views in 1881, but the shareholders having fallen into the same error as their predecessors, placed a man totally unfit for the position at its head; and as a natural consequence the paper lived only a few months. A fearless exponent of the Liberal programme, _La Patrie_ probably did more to advance the cause of liberalism in the province of Quebec than any other newspaper. Mr. Beaugrand, who is not only an able financier, but also a judge of literary merits, grouped together the young writers of the new school, led by Buies and Fréchette. In their ranks were found Arthur Globensky, the graceful poet; the late T. H. Bienvenu, the profound political writer; Ernest Tremblay (now editor of _L’Union_, St. Hyacinthe); J. E. Robidoux, M.P.P. for Chateauguay, and a score of others. Mr. David, who is an uncompromising Liberal, and who never faltered in his political principles, was a more or less frequent contributor to most of these newspapers. Besides his contributions to the press he found time to publish a volume entitled “Biographies et Portraits de nos principaux Canadiens-Français,” and another entitled “Patriotes de 1837-38.” The mantle of the greatest and most popular tribune whom French Canada will forever honor and remember, Papineau, who contributed more than any other to preserve intact the rights and privileges guaranteed to the conquered race by the Treaty of Utrecht, may be said to have fallen on the shoulders of Mr. David; no national fête, no popular demonstration is complete without him; and since 1864 he has taken an active part in all the national movements. He is considered in the province of Quebec as the standard-bearer of national ideas; yet he is ever willing and ready to grant to other races the rights he asks for his own race. His pen and voice (he is a fluent and agreeable speaker) have always been employed in the defence of right and to elevate the standard of public opinion among his countrymen, and to convince them that true and effective patriotism, national and religious strength consist more of deeds than of words and noisy affirmations and declarations, and he often said boldly on public platforms that he would not encourage injustice towards other nationalities to please his countrymen, even should the madness of a few irresponsible penny-a-liners, who are paid to carry on their nefarious work, goad them to reprisals. In 1886, Mr. David presented himself to the suffrages of the voters of Montreal East, and carried the day against two formidable opponents, the Hon. L. O. Taillon, premier of the province, probably the most influential man the Conservatives could bring forward, and Adélard Gravel, the nominee of the Labor party, who polled the entire labor vote of the constituency. The Reformers, however, rallied around their standard-bearer, and by presenting a united front, succeeded in electing him by a handsome majority. Mr. David was a partner in the law firm of Longpré and David. Mr. Longpré was appointed September, 1887, prothonotary of the Superior Court for the district of Montreal by the Mercier administration. In religion he is a Roman Catholic of broad views. He married, in 1868, Albina Chenet, a daughter of Pierre Chenet. She died in August, 1887. He is the father of eleven children, one son and ten daughters. * * * * * =Mountcastle, Clara H.= (“Caris Sima”), Clinton, Ontario, is the third surviving daughter, and seventh child of the late Sydney Harman Mountcastle, and Frances Laura, his wife, and was born in Clinton, Ontario, on the 26th of November, 1837. She is descended on her father’s side from James, eldest son of Lord Claude Hamilton, who was created Baron of Mountcastle and Kilpatrick on the 10th July, 1606; and on her mother’s side from an eminent civil engineer, who died in the year 1811, aged 92, and was buried at Preston, East Lothian, Scotland, where the following lines are inscribed on his tombstone:—“To the memory of Andrew Meikle, who steadily pursued the example of his ancestors, and by inventing and bringing to perfection a machine for separating corn from straw, constructed on the principle of velocity, rendered to the agriculturists of Britain and other nations a more beneficial service than any hitherto recorded in the annals of ancient or modern science.” Her maternal grandfather, James Meikle, held a prominent position in his Majesty’s Ordnance Department, with headquarters in the Tower of London, and was frequently consulted by the Duke of Wellington upon the defences of the country during the Peninsular campaign. And we can well imagine, from the massive intellect displayed in a portrait of this gentleman now in possession of Miss Mountcastle, that the “Iron Duke” had no mean adviser. Mr. Mountcastle, father of the subject of our sketch, was born in London, England, on the 12th of January, 1803, and came to Canada in 1832, bringing with him his wife, who still survives, and two children, who died shortly after his arrival. Having a small capital he purchased land on the Huron Road, county of Huron, Ontario, and erected two dwellings, at different periods, on the same. The latest of these is the childhood’s home of “Caris Sima,” a small picture of which, executed in oil, now hangs on the wall of her studio in Clinton, and represents a low hewn log dwelling, with gables to the road, as described in her poem, “Lost,” and literally embowered in trees and flowers. We clip the following from an obituary notice that appeared in a local paper at the time of her father’s death. Alluding to him, the writer says, “He made a good clearing on his land, and erected a comfortable dwelling, which in later years, as his young family grew up, became a seat of refined and cordial hospitality, the remembrance of which will be long retained by the many friends who were privileged to enjoy it.” Miss Mountcastle received the chief portion of her education at home, under the direct supervision of her parents. When a child she was dreamy and reflective, rarely rousing from a state of abstraction unless to defend anyone whom she thought injured or oppressed, or to comfort her pets when in pain or trouble. Her sympathy with the dumb creatures of the universe was intense. If she discovered a caterpillar on her clothes, she would try to think where it came from, and would walk a long distance to restore it to its “afflicted family.” Oftentimes would she carry tiny toads in her little pinafore, and would take them in her hands to warm them, saying “They were so cold, poor things.” And when a trap was set to catch mice, she would listen for the click, then silently release the little prisoner. In winter her chief pleasure seemed to be found in gazing at the glowing embers in the wide, open fireplace, and she seldom joined in the romps of the other children. She did not care for study in these days. At twelve years of age she knew little more than her letters, and was dubbed “the dunce of the family.” This roused in her a desire to excel, and from that time she acquired the rudiments of knowledge with remarkable rapidity. Long ere this she showed a decided talent for drawing, which was carefully fostered by her father and mother, both of whom possessed considerable artistic taste—her mother being a good amateur artist, and her father an excellent judge of a picture. Yet they were not qualified to bring forth the latent powers of their child, else her name had been known long before 1870, when she exhibited at the Provincial Exhibition at Toronto, carrying off five prizes for paintings in water colors. From this time she made art her profession, being utterly unconscious of a still greater talent yet to be developed, and which her devotion to art as a means of livelihood seems for a time to have entirely obscured. Though her father knew her ability, and tried to induce her to write, yet her natural diffidence prevented her, and it was not until 1879 that, through the urgent entreaties of her sister Ellen, she turned her attention to literature. Miss Mountcastle is, in every sense, what is termed “a late ripe.” Not only was she backward in her studies as a child, but she remained a child for an unprecedentedly long period of time. At the age of twenty she was an unformed girl, and continued growing in stature for some years afterwards. As an artist, we would say that her sketches are masterly, and embrace almost every conceivable subject, but she has not yet attained that high finish which only study under the best masters can give. It is in the field of letters where she excels. The power, the pathos, and passion of her writings bespeak for her a high place in the literature of this and the future ages. Her first work, “The Mission of Love,” published by Hunter, Rose and Co., Toronto, is well described by J. E. Collins, in “The Life and Times of Sir John A. Macdonald,” as “a garden in which there are several unseemly weeds growing side by side with a number of delightful flowers.” These weeds were an error in judgment. Many poets have erred in the same way, and afterwards tried to suppress their early work, but the flowers are imperishable. As in art, so also in literature, Miss Mountcastle’s genius is peculiarly versatile. No poet living or dead ever wrote in such varied style. Hear the music in “The Voice of the Waters.” Mark the light debonair tone in “See that he be virtuously brought up,” and yet how full of feeling and reverence; while the airy grace of her lyrics (valentines), combined with rare delicacy of feeling, is inimitable, and shows the writer entertains higher views of love than are likely ever to be realized in this mundane sphere. And what exquisite delicacy of thought is apparent in “Reflections on a Faded Rose,” “At the Falling of the Leaf,” “Day Dreaming,” “Art Thou Thinking of Me?” etc. While what depth of pathos is felt in the wailing of “Hope Deferred.” But it is in her unpublished work, some of which we have seen, that her genius becomes more apparent. Unsurpassed by modern poet is the verse wherein she reproaches the sea for causing the death of Sappho, the celebrated Greek poetess: Oh, sea, had’st thou no power to save, Could’st thou not raise that glorious face; Nor let thy suffocating breath, That heaven-born life of song erase; Nor calm that wild heart unto death. And grand enough for Milton are the concluding lines: Oh, cold, cold wave, that pressed her cheek, I hear thy murmuring undertone. For ages wilt thou sob and moan, In vain repentance o’er thy deed: The howling winds shall lash thy breast, And zephyrs mourn around thy shore, And murmur all thy rocks along; And thou, who stilled the voice of song, Thy deep great heart shall know no rest— Shall know no peace for evermore. Of Miss Mountcastle’s prose writing, we would say, that her novelette, “A Mystery,” lately published by Hunter, Rose & Co., Toronto, shows, as a first work, great ability. It is written in a pleasing, vivacious style. We take the following extract from a local paper, which does it no more than justice: “The plot is good, the moral inculcated equally so. The characters are well sustained. There is much wit and dry humor in their development, and the sketches of character and scenes show a close observation of nature; and without being in any way sensational, the interest in the story is well sustained to the end.” We would here remark, that the beautiful lines that appear in this volume, under the title of “Only a Little While,” emanate from the pen of the author’s sister, Ellen, who has written several short poems of much merit. Miss Mountcastle has written three essays on questions of the day, showing great power and originality of thought, and is now engaged on a tale of Canadian life, entitled, “Crow’s Hollow,” which we hope soon to see in print. To sum up the whole, we feel assured that, though now comparatively unknown, “Caris Sima” will ere long be recognized as one of the greatest poets of her time, and likewise rank as one of the most brilliant writers of fiction, on account of the vivid life, and intense human feeling, that is evinced in all her writings, whether in prose or verse. “Carissima,” that well-known Italian term of endearment, from which she derives her _nom de plume_, was an appellation conferred upon her in early girlhood by her father’s friend, the late Henry William Cole, M.D., a physician of great ability, to whom she was much attached, and is well adapted to the sweet, tender, womanly style of her writings, which show that, though in childhood she dwelt in a wilderness, she was reared in the lap of refinement. As a girl, “Caris Sima” was peculiarly simple and unsophisticated, and these traits of character still cling to her, as she, even now, gives little attention to the conventionalities of life. In stature, she is tall and commanding. Her features, which are irregular, are marked, when in repose, by an expression that might be termed sad, severe or stern; but when she speaks or smiles, her whole face illuminates like the sun breaking through a cloud, and she keeps on illuminating with expressions as versatile as her genius. In conclusion, we may say Miss Mountcastle is one of a family of twelve children, seven of whom died in infancy and early childhood. Of her sisters, Ellen, the eldest surviving, is, as we have already mentioned, a clever writer of fugitive verse. Eliza, the second daughter, is an amateur artist, and we may likewise say an amateur physician, as she studied medicine for six years under the late Dr. Cole, and practises among her own family with great success. The youngest, Alice, is married, and has one child, a bright boy, who seems likely to follow in the footsteps of his mother’s race. While her only surviving brother, Edmund Mountcastle, is a practical engineer of rare abilities, and, as we have seen, a descendant of the Andrew Meikle before mentioned, who was the first inventor of the threshing machine now in use. * * * * * =Williams, Rev. John Æthuruld=, D.D., Toronto, a General Superintendent of the Methodist church.—Dr. Williams is one of the most notable figures in the history of Canadian Methodism. For over forty years he has been intimately identified with its progress, and has deservedly, and with universal acceptance, attained the highest position in the gift of that church. Dr. Williams is a man who would anywhere command attention. He bears his seventy years with wonderful vigor. His fresh complexion, keen bright eyes, and remarkable alertness and energy, both of body and mind, seem to belong to a much younger man. He comes of sturdy Welsh stock, as his name—John Æthuruld Williams—indicates. He was born at Caermarthen, in South Wales, December 19th, 1817. He early lost his father, and was deprived of his only remaining parent at the age of twelve. He was thrown into the world of London, and there learned to develop that independence and energy of character by which he is marked. He received a good education at the Academy of Hoxton, near London. He came to Canada in his seventeenth year, and found a home in the town of Prescott, where the early years of his Canadian life were spent. He united with the Wesleyan Methodist church two years later, and for some time was engaged in secular business. His talents and religious zeal led to his entering the Methodist ministry in the year 1846, and to his ordination in 1850. He soon reached a leading position in the ministry, and in 1859 was elected chairman of the Owen Sound district. Such was the fitness which he evinced for that office that he has generally been elected chairman of the districts in which his pastoral charge has been situated. He has occupied several of the leading pulpits of the Methodist church: in Toronto, London, Port Hope, Brockville, Milton, Simcoe, St. Thomas, Goderich, St. Catharines, etc. When the London conference was organized in 1874, he was appointed its first president, in which office he was continued for a second term. He was a delegate to the general conference of the Methodist Episcopal church of the United States in 1876. In 1878 he received from Victoria University, in recognition of his wide reading, his general culture, and his distinguished ability, the degree of D.D. At the general conference of 1882 he was elected vice-president of that body; and at the united general conference of 1883, at which arrangements for the unification of Canadian Methodism were completed, he was unanimously elected president. The duties of this delicate and difficult position, at an important crisis in the history of the church, he discharged with such ability and impartiality as to command the admiration of the entire body. At the Centennial Conference of American Methodism, which met in Baltimore, in 1884, Rev. Dr. Williams and the Rev. Dr. Gardiner were the Canadian delegates. On that occasion Dr. Williams read an able paper, which commanded much attention, on the rise and progress of Canadian Methodism. On the lamented death of Rev. Dr. Rice, in 1885, it was the Rev. Dr. Williams whom the executive committee of the general conference selected as his successor in the office of general superintendent till the ensuing general conference. So ably did he discharge the important duties of that office that the general conference of 1886, by an almost unanimous vote, re-elected him to that position. In association with his colleague, the Rev. Dr. Carman, he has travelled with indefatigable energy throughout the length and breadth of the Dominion in promotion of the varied interests of the church of which he is a general superintendent. * * * * * =Ker, Rev. Robert=, Rector of Trinity Church, Mitchell, Ontario.—The subject of this brief biographical notice was born in the North of Ireland, some time about the year 1842 or ’43, and is the eldest son of the late Robert Ker, of Newbliss, county Monaghan. Having received an excellent common school education, and being very zealous in Sunday-school and other Christian work in his native place, it was intended that he should enter the ministry of the Church of England; but circumstances for the moment turned his thoughts in another direction. So early as 1857, Mr. Ker organized a Young Men’s Christian Association in his native town, and although quite unaware of the ultimate development of the movement, or of the parties even then working in it, the rules he drew up for the management of the association would be found to be not much dissimilar from the leading features of Young Men’s Christian Association work at the present. At a very early period Mr. Ker evinced a marked taste for newspaper writing, and took an active part in the controversy respecting the more general adoption of the National School system of education by the Protestants of Ireland. He vigorously denounced the system as an unworthy attempt to displace the Bible in the public schools, and succeeded in arousing a good deal of local hostility to the movement. About 1862 Mr. Ker entered the Normal Training College in Dublin, where his abilities as a thoughtful educationist attracted considerable attention, and he was awarded one of the four scholarships at the disposal of the committee, and on graduating from the institution he was one of three placed in the coveted rank of first class. Mr. Ker was promptly appointed to Lord Powerscourt’s chief school, which he taught with distinguished success for several years, and was awarded four honorary certificates from the Incorporated Society for the success of his pupils. Mr. Ker finally resigned the position, and at the invitation of the late Major Knox, proprietor of the _Irish Times_, Dublin, he became the special correspondent for that journal in Belfast. Those were exciting days on the Irish press, and very often the collecting of news involved a good many personal risks, and the subject of this sketch had his full share of them. Few of the leading public men of those days were unknown to Mr. Ker, and many are the incidents which he relates of the events of that stormy period, culminating, as it did, in the disestablishment of the Irish Church. It was Mr. Ker who reported the famous speech made by the Rev. John Flanagan respecting the kicking of the Queen’s crown into the Boyne, and which aroused the wrath of the London _Times_, and set the country in a blaze. Mr. Ker has occupied, at one time or another a position on every leading Irish paper. Late in 1872 he came to Canada, and was immediately engaged on the Toronto _Leader_, then an influential factor in Canadian politics. He remained on the staff of the _Leader_ for some time, and while there edited the _Patriot_, well known for its sterling defence of Protestant principles. In 1874, circumstances appeared favorable for carrying out the never wholly-abandoned idea of entering the ministry of the church, and after due matriculation Mr. Ker entered Trinity College, Toronto, under Provost Whitaker, and subsequently took charge of St. John’s High School, province of Quebec, as principal, and it was while occupying that position that he was, in 1877, ordained to the diaconate by the Right Rev. Dr. Oxenden, Metropolitan, who forthwith appointed him to the mission of Chelsea, Templeton and Portland. This was a very trying district, entailing long drives over bad roads, but Mr. Ker soon became a prime favorite, and was greatly missed upon leaving. During his incumbency he had the debt paid off the Chelsea church and a new one consecrated at Portland. The following year he was advanced to the priesthood, and appointed to succeed the late Rev. Dr. Clarke, as incumbent of St. Stephen’s Church, Buckingham, province of Quebec. From there he was transferred to St. Paul’s Church, Mansonville, and while there he was called, in 1880, to the rectorship of Trinity Church, Quebec city. Rev. Mr. Ker labored in the ancient capital for nearly seven years. Trinity congregation was by no means wealthy, but he succeeded in gathering around him an earnest body of workers, to whom he became greatly attached, and the congregation returned the feeling very heartily. He purchased the church building from the Sewell family at $8,300, and paid off $4,300 of the amount within the year, leaving the balance as a mortgage upon the building. During the seven years of the Rev. Mr. Ker’s pastorate in Trinity Church, it was a great centre of attraction for the young, and when he decided upon accepting a charge in Ontario, the feeling of regret was wide-spread and profound. For about four years of his residence in Quebec, Rev. Mr. Ker, in addition to his other duties, filled the position of vice-rector in the Boys’ High School. He was also appointed by the Lieutenant-governor-in-Council a member of the Board of Protestant Examiners, and that body subsequently elected him their secretary. Rev. Mr. Ker was also for a time inspector of the schools for the Colonial Church Society in the district of Quebec, and vice-president of the Quebec Teachers’ Association; so that, altogether he has rendered good service to the country of his adoption. As to his theological views, he wishes to be described simply as “a churchman,” irrespective of party distinctions, which he looks upon as injurious and uncalled for. In 1863 he was initiated into the Masonic order; and since then has held a leading position in its ranks, having been elected worshipful master of Albion lodge, and subsequently, in 1885, he was elected to the position of grand chaplain of the Grand Lodge of Quebec, and re-elected again in 1886. The Rev. Mr. Ker has been a constant contributor to leading periodicals, and is an editorial writer of recognized ability; in fact, in every sense he has been one of our hard workers. As a preacher he is held in high esteem, for, while avoiding sensationalism on the one hand and the dry conventionalities of ordinary preaching on the other, he addresses himself in plain and forcible language to the wants of his hearers, and denounces in vigorous terms the prevailing hollowness of religious professors. He participated to some extent in the controversies carried on by churchmen a few years ago, but this he very sincerely regrets, believing as he does that unquestioning loyalty to the Church and Christian forbearance to the brethren are clear and imperative duties. On the 23rd August, 1874, he was married at New Brighton, S. I., to Lizzie, youngest daughter of the late Thomas Wilkin. Their family consists of three sons and two daughters. The Rev. Mr. Ker is at present rector of Trinity church, Mitchell, in the diocese of Huron; and his brother, the Rev. John Ker, is rector of All Saints Church, Dunham, province of Quebec, in the diocese of Montreal, and is esteemed by Bishop Bond as one of the most active and most successful missionaries. * * * * * =Pelton, Sandford Harrington=, Q.C., Barrister, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, was born in New York, on the 28th September, 1845. His father was Milo Sandford Pelton, who was of English descent, and his mother, Louisa Maria Harrington, was a Nova Scotian. Sandford received his early educational training at the public school of Antigonish, Nova Scotia, and studied classics, mathematics, and the higher branches under the Rev. R. F. Brine, Episcopal minister at Arichat, Cape Breton. He studied law with the late Charles F. Harrington Q.C., of Arichat, who for some time represented Richmond county in the Nova Scotia legislature, and also with the Hon. Daniel Macdonald, formerly M.P.P. for Antigonish county, and attorney-general for Nova Scotia. On the 22nd October, 1867, he was admitted to the bar of Nova Scotia as a barrister and attorney, and commenced business in Yarmouth, on the 20th November, 1867, and here he has resided since, and has built up an extensive practice. He was appointed by the Nova Scotia government, on May 27th, 1876, a Queen’s counsel. Mr. Pelton is an active Mason, and occupies a prominent position in the order; is a past district deputy grand master, and a past junior grand warden of the Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia. In temperance work, too, he has taken a hand, and is a member of several societies. In politics, he is a Liberal, and worked actively for his party during the last elections. He is an adherent of the Presbyterian church. On the 16th November, 1869, he was married to Mary Georgina Darby, youngest daughter of the late Captain Jos. W. E. Darby (who was for some years employed by the Nova Scotia government in the fishery protection service as commander of the cutter _Daring_, and died on board that vessel in 1851; he made quite a name for himself by his skill and ability in the discharge of his duties), and granddaughter of the late Superintendent Darby, of Sable Island. * * * * * =Shakespeare, Noah=, General Agent, Victoria, British Columbia, M.P., for Victoria, was born at Brierley Hill, Staffordshire, England, on the 26th of January, 1839. His parents were Noah and Hannah Shakespeare. The father was a distant relation of William Shakespeare, the bard of Avon. Mr. Shakespeare received his education in the public schools of his native place. He left school at an early age, and being of an independent turn of mind, and anxious to get on in the world, he worked as hard and as long hours, as any lad in England. Having heard of British Columbia as a field in which a young man might get on, he determined to try his fortune in that far-off land, and accordingly left England, and landed in Victoria, on the 10th of January, 1863, and has since that time been a resident of the province. Arriving like many another poor lad in Canada, without scarcely a penny in his pocket, he availed himself of the first job that offered, namely, that of a place in the Vancouver collieries. Here he faithfully performed the duties assigned to him for some years, until he saw an opportunity of bettering his condition. He then moved to Victoria city, and began to climb the path which has since led to distinction. His first public position was that of councillor, and being a workingman himself, his efforts during the four years he was in the council, were always directed in favour of the workingman. In 1882, he was elected mayor of the city, by a large majority of the ratepayers, and never, it may be said, had Victoria a better chief magistrate, and its affairs better managed than under his administration. This same year he was elected president of the Mechanics’ Institute; and at the general election of 1882, he was sent to Ottawa, to represent Victoria in the House of Commons; and again re-elected to the same position at the general election in the spring of