Part 37

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=White, James, F.R.G.S., F.R.S.C., M. Eng. Inst. Can., E.=, is the Assistant to Chairman and the Deputy Head of the Canadian Commission of Conservation, with headquarters in the Temple Building, Metcalfe Street, Ottawa. He is the eldest son of David White and Christina, daughter of George Hendry, and was born February 3, 1863. In 1888, he married Rachel, daughter of Thomas Waddell, and has two daughters. He was educated at the Royal Military College, Kingston, Ontario. In January, 1884, he was appointed topographer on the staff of the Geological Survey of Canada, and made surveys in the Rocky Mountains during 1884-5. In 1886, he made surveys in the Madoc, Ontario, gold district; in 1887-90, in the Ottawa County, Quebec, phosphate district; and in 1891-93, in the Kingston and Pembroke, Ontario, district, and in the latter year was employed on the Alaska Boundary Commission. In 1894, he was appointed Geographer and Chief Draughtsman to the Geological Survey. In 1899, he was appointed Chief Geographer of the Department of the Interior, in which branch he organized the map work. In 1907 he made investigations respecting fast Atlantic passenger steamships (the All-Red Line), and in 1909 was appointed Secretary to the Commission of Conservation and Assistant Chairman and Deputy Minister in 1913. The following valuable publications are to his credit: 1901 and 1915, Altitudes in Canada, 1st and 2nd editions; 1903 and 1916, Dictionary of Altitudes, 1st and 2nd editions; Maps and Mapmaking in Canada; Derivation of Place-Names in Northern Canada, of Quebec, of Thousand Islands, of Rocky Mountains, and of Georgian Bay; Treaties and Boundaries affecting Canada; Fuels of Western Canada; various other articles, etc.; 1906, Atlas of Canada. For recreation, Mr. White takes pleasure in travelling, and he belongs to the Authors and the Rideau Clubs. He resides at 450 Wilbrod Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

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=Dunlop, Edward Arunah, M.P.P.= (Pembroke, Ont.), born at Pembroke, Ont., October 26th, 1876, son of Mary Deacon and Arunah Dunlop, ex-M.P.P. Began his business career as clerk for Dunlop & Chapman, hardware merchants, Pembroke, in 1892, and in 1897 took charge of the business, changing the name to Dunlop & Company. In politics he is a Conservative. Declined nomination to the Ontario Legislature for North Renfrew in 1899. Was elected at the by-election December 26, 1903, by a majority of 598, after a contest of nineteen months, during which time the constituency was unrepresented in the Ontario Legislature. This is said to be the longest vacancy in the parliamentary records of Canada. Was re-elected 1905. Declined nomination in 1908. Re-elected by acclamation in 1911, and re-elected in 1914. Was a member of the Town Council of Pembroke from 1908 to 1913 inclusive. Is connected with many commercial concerns, being President of the Pembroke Lumber Company, Steel Equipment Co., Ltd., Pembroke Electric Light Co., Ltd., and MacFarlane Neil Mfg. Co. of Fredericton, N.B.; also a director of the Pembroke Woollen Mills, Ltd., Massey Lumber Co., Ltd., Pembroke Southern Railway, Pembroke Iron Works, Ltd., Superior Electrics, Ltd., Victoria Foundry Co., Ltd., Ottawa, and other companies. Is First Vice-President of the Canadian Electrical Association for 1919. He is a member of the Rideau and Country Clubs of Ottawa and the National and Albany Clubs of Toronto. Is a member of the Methodist Church. On June 17, 1908, he married Mabel Ferguson, daughter of Donald Ferguson, of Beamsville, Ont., and has three daughters.

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=Reid, William Brown=, President and Managing Director of United Cigar Stores, Ltd., of Canada, with head office at 284 King Street West, Toronto, Ont., was born in Rothes, Scotland, April 7, 1866, the son of Alexander and Helen (Simpson) Reid. His father was an extensive and prosperous farmer, and this afforded the subject of this sketch the opportunity of exercising in his boyhood his innate love of horses which he still retains. While afforded, like other members of his family, all the facilities for pursuing the highest educational course, he was satisfied with that of the common schools which have produced so many successful Scotchmen. He served with the Rothes (Elginshire) Volunteers from 1882 till 1888, when he came to Canada, and shortly afterwards joined the 48th Highlanders, serving for five years. After leaving school he pursued his own inclinations, and before coming to Canada had gained practical experience in a general way, besides having considerable knowledge along useful technical lines as a reserve to fall back on. In 1888, he became connected with the Empire Tobacco Co., with which he remained as Toronto representative till 1897, when he established in Toronto the wholesale tobacco and Cigar firm of W. B. Reid & Co., which was the foundation of the present extensive corporation of which he was the originator, and has always been the head and controlling genius. The firm was incorporated as the United Cigar Stores, Limited, in 1902, with a capital of $20,000, and opened several cigar stores in Toronto. In May, 1914, the company’s capital stock was increased to $250,000, and the number of stores largely increased and extended to outside cities. A year later, United Cigar Stores, Limited, of Canada was incorporated with a capital of $3,800,000, with Mr. Reid still in full control. The Company now has 164 stores, extending from Quebec City to Port Arthur, including 39 in Toronto, 13 in Ottawa, 11 in Hamilton, and one or more in almost every important town in the province. Remarkable as this achievement is in so short a time, it falls far short of the goal set by Mr. Reid, who intends to have stores in every city and town of consequence in the Dominion, and no doubt would have already made this goal an established fact before now if the war had not put a temporary stop to further expansion. Besides operating this great chain of stores, the company has two large cigar factories, and as a holding company, also controls a chain of Drug Stores with about a dozen branches, and a constantly and rapidly increasing business. The annual turnover of the cigar stores and cigar factories is between $3,000,000 and $4,000,000, all directed by Mr. Reid personally from the head office. This immense volume of business enables the company to buy goods in such large quantities that it obtains better terms than are available by small purchasers, and at the same time minimizes the percentage of overhead expenses. Mr. Reid married Edith E. Rogers, daughter of A. C. Rogers, Newmarket, Ont., November 8, 1896. He is a member of the Toronto and Montreal Boards of Trade, of the Scarborough Golf Club, Lakeview Golf, Mississauga Golf and Ontario Clubs; member of the A.F. & A.M., a Presbyterian, and independent in politics. His chief recreations are bowling and golf. He resides at 42 Lakeview Ave., Toronto. Mr. Reid is genial in manner, a systematic organizer, with sufficient of the imaginative faculty to prompt enterprise and enough determination and reserve force to ensure the carrying out of anything to which he lays his hand. He was the first man in the province of Ontario to place on the market the product of Canadian grown tobacco, and the expansion of this business has proven his foresight beyond question. The great war made heavy drafts on the staff of the Company, but Mr. Reid is too good a Britisher to complain of that; in fact, in addition to contributing thousands of dollars to patriotic purposes, so strong along this line is he that he never has allowed any foreign element to obtain a footing in his company, which he says will be strictly Canadian, without outside influence, so long as he is at its head—and that means as long as he desires to remain in active business.

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=Johnson, Hon. Thomas Herman, B.A., LL.D.=, Attorney-General of Manitoba, is a type of those Icelandic Canadians who, going into the West in the early days, have done so much for its development. He was born in Iceland on February 12, 1870, the son of John and Margaret Johnson. When he was a boy of eight years old his father resolved to try his fortunes in the virgin country of Western Canada, and settled in Manitoba as a farmer, bringing his family with him. The subject of this sketch was from early boyhood bent on a professional career. He attended the public schools of Winnipeg, and later took a course at Gustavus Adolphus College, Minnesota, from which he graduated in 1895 with the degree of B.A. As a youth he taught school during the summer in the Glenboro district to secure funds to continue his studies during the winter. After obtaining his degree he entered the legal offices of Richards (afterwards Mr. Justice Richards) and Bradshaw, with a view to qualifying himself for the law. He was admitted to the Manitoba Bar in 1900, and immediately commenced practice at Winnipeg. His abilities and knowledge of the different races of Manitoba were such that in 1901 the Laurier administration appointed him census commissioner for Manitoba to take the decennial census of that year. In 1904 he was elected as member of the Winnipeg School Board, and continued to act until 1907, when he resigned to stand as Liberal candidate for the Legislature in the riding of West Winnipeg. He was successful, and was also re-elected in 1910. At the general elections of 1914 he was Liberal candidate in Centre Winnipeg, and was again successful. As a prominent member of the opposition, he took an active part in the campaign which resulted in driving the Roblin administration from office. In 1915, when the Liberals, under Hon. Mr. Norris, came into power, he was again elected for Centre Winnipeg, and on the formation of the Norris government was offered, and accepted, the post of Minister of Public Works. Subsequently, he was transferred to the more important portfolio of Attorney-General. Mr. Johnson is a fine public speaker, and his shrewdness and judgment on all public questions are highly esteemed by his fellow citizens and colleagues in the Legislature. He is a Lutheran in religion, and his chief recreation is golf. On June 21, 1898, he married Aurora, daughter of F. Frederickson, merchant, Glenboro, Manitoba, and has three children, M. Ethel, Elswood B., and Cecil F. Johnson.

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=Farrow, Robinson Russell=, Assistant Commissioner of Customs, was born at Bluevale, Huron County, Ontario, March 7, 1864, and was educated at the public schools in Huron. He is the son of Thomas Farrow, (who came to Canada from England in 1849, and for years was Superintendent of Schools for Wawanosh, Morris and Turnberry, and who, establishing himself in business, made progress and prospered as the country advanced in population, industry and wealth), and Mary Macdonald, of London, Ontario. His father also became popular in the County of Huron, and at the general election in 1872 was chosen to represent North Huron in the House of Commons. He was re-elected at the general election in 1876, and again at the general election in 1882 was the successful candidate for East Huron. June 1, 1881, Mr. Farrow first entered the Civil Service of Canada in the Customs Department, and May 8, 1907, was appointed Assistant Commissioner. In lawn bowling and curling, Mr. Farrow holds a prominent station for competency, and is ever sought when championship contests are listed. He usually carries his team to victory. He is honorary President of the Ontario Lawn Bowling Association; member of the Executive of the Dominion Lawn Bowling Association; Past President of the Ottawa Lawn Bowling Club; and a member of the Finance Committee of the Ottawa Curling Club. In his official capacity as Assistant Commissioner, he is one of the busiest men in the Civil Service, and one of the most competent, coupled with which there is an ever evident promptness in action and courtesy in manner. January 5, 1887, Mr. Farrow married Miss R. J. Bradley, daughter of Samuel T. Bradley, a mill owner, and Margaret Alexander, of Huntley, Ontario. Mr. Farrow has one daughter—Ethel, B.A. (now Mrs. C. H. Bland), whose son, Corpl. C. H. Bland, B.A., served during the world war in the 20th Battery, Overseas Forces, and was with the army of occupation in Germany; and Bombdr. Russell Farrow, who, with the 20th Battery, C.E.S., served in France, Belgium, and with the army of occupation in Germany. Mr. Farrow belongs to the Laurentian Club, and is a member of the following societies: Scottish Rite Masons; A.F. & A.M.; Oddfellows; A.O.U.W.; Canadian Order of Foresters; Sons of England. He resides at 7 McLeod Street, Ottawa, Ont., and he attends the Methodist Church.

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=Veale, Philip Henry=, Assessment Commissioner for the City of Ottawa, was appointed to that position February 5, 1917. He is well known among Canadian municipal officials and civic legislators as a reliable authority on assessments, both as to the application of the Ontario Assessment and Local Improvement Acts, and as to land values, of which he has been a close student. Prior to his appointment as Assessment Commissioner, there were, besides the Commissioner, an Assistant Commissioner; and when Mr. Veale was appointed the latter position was abolished, the civic government considering that in the new appointment they had secured a man who was competent to perform the duties alone, although the responsibilities and duties of the office had increased considerably, and were daily increasing. That they were not mistaken is amply proved by the fact that the affairs of the Assessment Commissioner’s office were never working in such regular clock-like form as they are to-day. When Mr. Veale first became an employee in the Assessment Commissioner’s Office in 1892, the taxable assessment of the city of Ottawa was but $18,236,160, and the population only 43,942. In 1919—twenty-seven years later—the taxable assessment had increased to $114,392,261, and the population to 104,007; and, strange to say, of all the aldermen who were in the city council at that time, but one man, Alderman (now Controller) Napoleon Champagne, is still in civic life, and most of the others have crossed the line and joined the great majority. Mr. Veale has contributed largely to newspapers and magazines on assessment and other like important subjects, and few, if any, are better able to handle such subjects in newspaper discussion than he. It was in the re-organization of the civic assessment department in 1892 that Mr. Veale was appointed to a clerkship. It was not long before he was appointed chief clerk, and then Assistant Commissioner; and when Mr. William Stewart retired in 1917, Mr. Veale was called upon to assume the duties and responsibilities of both offices. Besides being an authority on real estate values, Mr. Veale is well known in Eastern Ontario as a breeder of White Wyandotte chickens, as a consistent exhibitor and prize-winner. At his summer home. River Park, every year he raises hundreds of thoroughbred fowl. Mr. Veale is the son of Philip Veale, who for many years was manager of the Dominion Fisheries at Ottawa, and Jane (Smith) Veale. He was born at Merrickville, Ontario, January 7, 1865, and was educated in the public school, New Edinburgh, now a portion of Ottawa. On April 27, 1887, Mr. Veale married Emma M. Payne, daughter of Abraham Payne, civil servant, Ottawa, resulting in a fine family of nine children—seven girls and two boys—Ethel Alberta, Mabel Mildred, Kathleen Gwendeline, Philip McDougal, Beatrice Jean, Albert Newell, Annie Edna, Lois Evelene, Constance Winifred. Mr. Veale is a member of the following clubs and societies: St. George’s, Sons of England, Knight of the Maccabees, and St. Matthew’s Church Men’s. In religion he is an Anglican, in politics a Conservative, and his recreations are fishing, and amateur gardening. His residence is at Woodroffe, Ont.

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=Finlayson, George Daniel, B.A., A.I.A.=, is the son of Edward Finlayson, a farmer who was born at Merigomish, N.S., and Catherine (Smith) Finlayson, and a brother of Professor J. N. Finlayson of Dalhousie University, Halifax. Mr. Finlayson was born in Merigomish, Pictou County, Nova Scotia, December 31, 1882, and received his education in the country school, Merigomish, Pictou Academy, and Dalhousie University, graduating in 1907 with B.A. and great distinction. On May 6, 1907, Mr. Finlayson entered upon his duties in connection with the Dominion Insurance Department, and at once became a valuable acquisition to the staff of that branch of the Civil Service. It was not long before his great ability as an authority on, and his general knowledge of, all phases of insurance brought him prominently to the notice of the Ottawa authorities and the heads of insurance companies throughout Canada, and his promotion, as a consequence, was rapid. Seven years later, from the time he entered the service on September 1, 1914, and at the early age of 32 years, he was appointed to the highest position in the Insurance Department, viz., that of Superintendent, which position he holds to-day. In the execution of his duties, he is noted for his courtesy to all who seek information from him. In 1914, Mr. Finlayson married Isabel M. Grant, daughter of A. M. Grant, of Moncton, New Brunswick, and has one daughter, Catherine Smith Finlayson, and one son. Mr. Finlayson is a member of the Canadian, University, and Riverside Golf clubs. For recreation he indulges in tennis, golf and walking. He is a Presbyterian in religion, and his residence is 200 Carling Avenue, Ottawa.

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=McLean, Angus Alexander, LL.B., K.C., Ex-M.P.=, Controller of the Royal North-West Mounted Police, since 1917, was born December 17, 1854, at Belfast, Prince Edward Island, and received his education at the Prince of Wales College, Charlottetown, P.E.I., and Harvard Law School. He is the son of William and Flora McLean, both of Prince Edward Island. Having read law in the office of the late Chief Justice, Hon. Sir William Sullivan, Mr. McLean was called to the bar in 1876, and became a partner in the law firm of Sullivan, McLean & Morsen. Afterwards he was senior member of McLean & McKinnon, barristers and solicitors, Victoria Row, Charlottetown, P.E.I. In June, 1894, he was appointed Q.C., and revising officer for East Queen’s, and was elected President of the P.E.I. Law Society. For eight years, Mr. McLean was law clerk for the P.E.I. Legislature, and was Official Assignee under the old Dominion Insolvent Act for five years. During 1888, 1889 and 1900, Mr. McLean represented the constituency of Belfast in the P.E.I. Legislature. He was a candidate at the by-elections of 1902 and 1904 for the House of Commons, and was elected at the General Election of 1904. In the General Election of 1908 he was defeated, but in 1911 was elected by a large majority. October 15, 1917, he was appointed controller of the Royal North-West Mounted Police. In June 14, 1882, Mr. McLean married Leah Yeo, daughter of the late John Yeo, of Charlottetown. She died in 1897. In 1898, he married Frances H. Longworth, daughter of the late Henry Longworth, of Charlottetown. He has two sons, both of whom served with distinction in the Overseas forces during the great world war. In religion Mr. McLean is a Presbyterian, in politics a Liberal-Conservative, and he is a member of the A.F. & A.M.; the I.O.O.F.; and the S.O.S. Societies. He resides at 312 Cooper Street, Ottawa, Ontario.

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=Robertson, Hon. Gideon Decker, P.C.=, Federal Minister of Labor, was the first actual representative of organized labor to be called to either the Dominion Cabinet or the Senate of Canada, He was born at Welland, Ont., on August 26, 1874, the son of Gavin E. Robertson and Laretto Goring, both native Canadians. His paternal grandfather was a native of Scotland, who became a member of the bar and later went to Jamaica, where he took an active part in the agitation for the abolition of slavery, which became a fully accomplished fact in 1838. In this movement Robertson was in correspondence with Clarkson, Macaulay (father of Lord Macaulay), Wilberforce and others active in freeing the British Empire from this reproach. Later, he came to Canada, where Gavin Robertson, father of the subject of this sketch, was born, and where he became a farmer and school teacher on the Niagara peninsula. Gideon Decker Robertson was educated at the public and high schools of Welland and as a youth took up telegraphy in connection with railroad work. A strong believer in trades unionism, he soon became active in the Order of Railroad Telegraphers, an international body, of which he was some years ago elected Vice-President, an office he still holds. His duties brought him in contact with the chiefs of organized labor on this continent, and he won a high reputation for clear thinking and executive ability. In 1917, when Sir Robert Borden decided to abolish party lines and form a Union Government, he offered Mr. Robertson a position in the Senate and a seat in his Cabinet. The offer was accepted, and in the autumn of that year he was sworn in as a member of the Privy Council and a Minister without Portfolio. In May, 1918, he was appointed Chairman of the sub-Committee of the Council on Labor Problems, and also Chairman of the National Registration Board in connection with the war. On November 7, 1918, he was sworn in as Minister of Labor in succession to Hon. T. W. Crothers, who had announced his intention of retiring some months previously. The appointment was made just at the psychological moment, for the armistice, which had been signed just one week previously, created a host of labor problems more serious than Canada had ever previously been called upon to face; and only a statesman enjoying practical knowledge and the confidence of organized labor could have dealt with the situation. In the spring and summer of 1919 he was called upon to combat a conspiracy affecting all Canada to introduce a modified form of Russian Bolshevism, fathered by the Industrial Workers of the World, known as the “One Big Union.” The aim was to unite all existing labor organizations in one body, and by sympathetic strikes and a policy of terrorism destroy capitalism, and reduce all other classes to subjection. This movement came to a head with a general strike called in Winnipeg early in May, on the pretext of a dispute between the metal workers and their employers. Winnipeg was chosen as a strategic point, because of its peculiar geographical position as the chief divisional point of three transcontinental railways. The aim was to cut Canada in two in the matter of communications, and then by broadening the strike Eastward and Westward secure complete control of Canadian transportation and industry, after which the movement was to be carried into every section of the United States. Senator Robertson himself went to the scene of operations, and by his fearless, though moderate handling of the situation, and his influence with the saner labor elements, rendered the conspiracy abortive so far as the rest of Canada was concerned, and fruitless in Winnipeg. He thus secured a triumph for legitimate trade unionism, of which he is the chief sponsor in Canada. He is a Freemason, a Presbyterian, and in politics a member of the Independent Labor Party. On June 10, 1896, he married Mary Berry Hay, daughter of Alexander Hay, Watford, Ont., and has six children—Edwin J., John McElroy, Gain Elliot, Alexander Lorne, Mabel Letitia, and Alma Lauretta. He formerly resided at Welland but his home is now at Ottawa.

=Hutchison, Col. William= (Ottawa, Ont.), the subject of this sketch, was born in New Edinburgh in 1843, a suburb of the city of Ottawa. He was educated in the Public and Grammar Schools. When about seventeen years of age Col. Hutchison commenced to learn the Milling business with his uncle, the late Thos. McKay, who was then owner of the McKay Mills at the Chaudiere and also a partner in the New Edinburgh Mills. At the age of twenty Col. Hutchison left for the United States where he followed the milling business for several years. On his return he took charge of his uncle’s business and shortly afterwards was made a partner. In 1885 he was elected to City Council, and served for seven years. It was during Col. Hutchison’s service in the City Council that the question of the proper drainage of the city attained its greatest importance, and it is owing to his keen foresight and wise counsel and persistence that Ottawa to-day has the excellent drainage system of which it now boasts, and that is but one of the many happenings for the benefit, progress and beautification of Ottawa that were brought into existence through his instrumentality during his term of office in the City’s Civic affairs. From 1888 to, and including the year 1905, a period of eighteen years, Col. Hutchison was a member of the Board of Directors of the Central Canada Exhibition Association, and from 1895 to 1905, 10 years, he was President. On retiring in 1906 he was elected Honorary President of the Association and has been re-elected to that position every year since. Col. Hutchison, with the assistance of Messrs. Ahearn and Topper, was instrumental in converting the old horse car line to electric, giving Ottawa one of the best street car services on the continent. He ran for the Dominion House in 1896, with the result that both he and his French colleague, Napoleon A. Belcourt, were elected by a sweeping majority. At the time the Conservatives felt that they had a serious grievance, but ere long the good-hearted, good-natured and genial new Member became the friend and companion of both Liberals and Conservatives in the House of Commons. In 1901, when Sir Wilfrid Laurier needed a competent man to travel to all parts of the world to exhibit Canada’s mineral, cereal and industrial resources, Col. Hutchison was asked to accept the position of Canadian Exhibition Commissioner. He accepted and since his appointment he has had charge of Canada’s exhibits at the following times and places:—1901, Buffalo, U.S.A.; 1902, Osaka, Japan; 1903-04 St. Louis, U.S.A.; 1905, Liege, Belgium; 1906, Milan, Italy; 1907, Dublin, Ireland; 1908, Shepherds Bush, London, England; 1909, Seattle, U.S.A.; 1910, Brussels, Belgium; 1911-12, Crystal Palace, London, England; 1913, Ghent, Belgium; 1914-15, San Francisco, U.S.A.; 1916-17, San Diego, U.S.A. The great world war has caused a cessation of the valuable exhibits, but the whole display is located in commodious quarters on Wellington St. in Ottawa, under Col. Hutchison’s special care, waiting and ready to be shipped at a moment’s notice. In 1902 Col. Hutchison was decorated by the Emperor of Japan with the Order of the Rising Sun (with rank of Colonel in the Army). In 1905 he was decorated by the late King Leopold II. of Belgium, with the Order of Leopold, and in 1906 by the King of Italy with the Order of the Crown of Italy, in 1910 he was made Commander of the Order of the Crown of Belgium by King Albert I. Col. William Hutchison is the son of the late Robert Hutchison of Ayrshire, Scotland, who came to Canada in 1830 and in New Edinburgh married Mary McKay, niece of the late Hon. Thos. McKay, who was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. In September, 1874, he married Electa Blanche, daughter of S. T. Willett of Chambly, Quebec. Two sons have blessed the union. In religion he is a Presbyterian, and in politics a high tariff Liberal. He is also a member of the Rideau Club, Ottawa, and his residence is 443 Albert St., Ottawa.

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=Gibson, Brigadier-General Sir John Morison, K.C.M.G., M.A., LL.D., K.C.=, born January 1, 1842, township of Toronto, in the County of Peel, and is therefore a “Peel Old Boy.” His father, William Gibson, a farmer, came from Glamis, Forfarshire, Scotland, in 1827. His mother, Mary Sinclair, was born in Scotland. Her people had settled in the township of Nelson, in the County of Halton. The family removed from Toronto township when the subject of this sketch was only eight or nine years of age to the County of Haldimand, where he had some experience in the Log School House education of the primitive settlements of that County in the early 50’s. He afterwards went to the Central School in Hamilton, the late Dr. Sangster then being Superintendent and Head Master. In due course, and working against great disadvantages, he became head boy of the public schools of Hamilton, a position which he maintained until he passed the matriculation examination of the University of Toronto in 1859. As head boy of the school, he with the second boy, was selected to open the waterworks system of the city of Hamilton in 1858. His course at the University was a very successful one, taking scholarships all the way through the various years, and graduating in 1863 as the highest honor graduate with the Prince of Wales Prize, then given for general proficiency, including honors at graduation, the Silver Medals in Classics and Modern Languages, and the prize in Oriental languages, including Hebrew, Chaldee and Syriac. After taking his B.A. degree, he commenced the study of law in the office of the late Sir George Burton in Hamilton, at the same time taking the law course of the University, and receiving the degree of LL.B. in 1869 with the gold medal. One thing of note in connection with General Gibson’s life is that he has always endeavored to repay the educational institutions from which he received his education. For many years he was a member of the Board of Education in Hamilton, and was its Chairman for two years. During that time the Collegiate Institute was brought into prominence as one of the leading secondary educational institutions of the country. He served as a Senator of the University of Toronto, being elected at the first election of graduates in 1873 and re-elected in 1878 and 1883. He subsequently founded a general proficiency scholarship for matriculation candidates. When a student of the University during the Trent affair, he joined the University Rifles, being one of the first to sign the roll of that company in 1860. He has been in the Militia ever since, for now nearly 59 years, and at the present time is the senior officer in the Canadian Force among all who are not following military life as their regular occupation. In 1863, he transferred to the 13th, and has served from private up through all the ranks to the position of commanding officer, which position he held for 9 years, and at the present time is the Honorary Colonel of that corps. He was present at Ridgeway as a lieutenant. He subsequently commanded the 15th Brigade, having headquarters at Hamilton, and later on at the beginning of the great war received the rank of Brigadier-General. As a marksman he always has had a very high reputation, having been a member Canadian Wimbledon teams in 1874, ’75, and ’79, being a frequent prize winner, and taking the much coveted Prince of Wales prize in the last-named year. He took part in several of the early international long range rifle contests with British, Australian, and American rifle teams. In 1881 he commanded the team which defeated the British team in the competition for the Kolapore Cup. He was president for three years of the Ontario Rifle Association, was also President of the Canadian Military Rifle League, and from 1893 for thirteen or fourteen years was President of the Dominion Rifle Association. In 1907 he again commanded the Canadian rifle team at Bisley. He has also been President of the Canadian Military Institute, and was President of the Canadian Red Cross Society from its original organization throughout the South African War, and subsequently for a period of about 14 years, and has been throughout the recent great war one of the most active members of the Executive Board. He was for two years President of the Hamilton St. Andrew’s Society. From an early age he has been a very prominent Freemason—was Grand Master of the Masonic Grand Lodge of Canada during the years 1892 and 1893, being now the representative of the Grand Lodge of England, and for nine years was Sovereign Grand Commander of the Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite Masons in Canada. He has always taken a prominent part in politics. As a young man he was Secretary of the Hamilton Reform Association, which position he held for many years. He was first returned to the Legislature in 1879, representing Hamilton for a period of 19 years, and afterwards East Wellington for 7 years. He entered the Government as Provincial Secretary in 1889, became Commissioner of Crown Lands in 1896, and Attorney-General in 1899. He was an honorary A.D.C. to their Excellencies, Lord Aberdeen and Lord Minto, when Governors-General, and in 1897 was selected by the Militia Department to proceed to England in connection with the celebration of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee; was present by invitation, at the coronations in Westminster Abbey of the late King Edward VII, and of the present King George V. He has always taken a leading part at the Bar, and was made a Queen’s Counsel in 1890, is a Bencher of the Law Society of Upper Canada, and as a young man was an examiner in the Faculty of Law at Toronto University. In 1903 he received the honorary degree of LL.D. from that institution, and subsequently also from McMaster University. In 1908 he became Lieut.-Governor of the Province of Ontario, being the last to occupy the old Government House on King Street West, Toronto, continuing for over six years. During his term, on the recommendation of His Royal Highness the Duke of Connaught, then Governor-General of Canada, he was created a Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George. As a public man he shrank from prominence in the public eye; he was most industrious and faithful in the performance of any duties he undertook to discharge. He had an excellent training for many years under the greatest of law makers this country has ever produced, Sir Oliver Mowat. While a private member of the Legislative Assembly he was selected as Chairman of the Private Bills Committee, which for fifteen years he presided over with eminent ability, fairness and impartiality. During the short period when the license branch was under his control some of the most advanced measures of temperance legislation were introduced by him, including the local option law, the validity of which was stoutly contested, but in the end affirmed by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Though not himself a practical sportsman, almost immediately after entering the legislature he led a movement for better protection of game birds and fur-bearing animals, first securing the abolition of spring shooting and other improvements in the law, and afterwards the appointment of a Royal Commission followed by a thorough revision of the game laws and the establishment of a departmental branch, with a chief game warden and other provincial wardens entrusted with the enforcement of the laws relating to game protection. While Provincial Secretary he was always an industrious legislator. The laws relating to Joint Stock Companies were thoroughly revised, modernized, and simplified by him. The old laws relating to building societies and loan companies were completely overhauled, and became the present Loan Corporations Act. It was at this time also that he undertook to stem the tide or flood of benefit societies, many of them of the fake order, which threatened to inundate this Province—a subject of legislation requiring at the time very cautious and skilful handling, but which, with the able assistance of Mr. J. H. Hunter, M.A., was ultimately put on a very satisfactory footing. One of the most important laws of comparatively recent years owes to him its existence, and has generally been referred to as the “Gibson Act”—the Act relating to neglected and dependent children—and the establishment of the Children’s Branch, with Mr. Kelso as its chief officer. This law has been most beneficial in its operation, and has been followed more or less closely in most of the other Provinces. During his comparatively short incumbency as Commissioner of Crown Lands he introduced and carried through the House the important legislation prohibiting the exportation of saw logs—a measure affecting very large interests but meeting the entire approval of the public. He also dealt with important changes in the mining laws during a period of great mining excitement in the Province. It is probably not generally known that while Commissioner of Crown Lands he introduced a short but very important measure preventing any absolute alienation by the Crown of Provincial water powers, and providing for leasing same for short renewable terms of years subject to conditions in the public interest. It is somewhat singular that a public man who has often been unfairly criticized as a champion of monopolies should never have been credited with this act directly aimed against and prohibitive of monopoly. In the matter of forest preservation or reforesting, Mr. Gibson aimed at carrying out a programme which probably time would justify as the most effective and productive policy possible. He aimed at the selection and setting apart every year a portion of the Crown domain unfit for agricultural purposes as a timber growing reserve. Many such sections in Northern Ontario, which have been cut over or burnt over, and now more or less covered over by new growth, could be set apart and treated as territory to be guarded as timber growing areas. In the Eastern part of the Province certain old limits were repurchased from the license holders and so set apart, and again another area in Western Ontario. The plan of year after year reserving areas in this way would in a generation or so result in well defined sections of the Province producing a new crop of timber which would not fail to become an extremely valuable asset to posterity. It was in Sir John Gibson’s time that the first steps were taken for the establishment of the Temagami Reserve very effectively carried out by Mr. Davis, his successor. As Attorney-General he had, of course, the responsibility of legislation generally. The assessment laws had been the subject of investigation and report at the hands of two Royal Commissioners, and amid the distressing conflict of opinion on the various questions which arise whenever this subject is touched, the difficulty of framing a generally acceptable measure seemed insuperable. Whatever may be thought of the present act, Sir John Gibson’s tact as a legislator was mainly instrumental in having it passed through the House, and probably as time has passed and the public have become more and more familiar with its provisions it may be considered to give general satisfaction. The collection and revision of Imperial Statutes in force in this Province in the shape of a brief third volume of the Revised Statutes carried out with the aid of a committee of the judges has been a boon to law students, and a great convenience to the legal profession. (The foregoing facts and observations regarding Sir John’s career have been contributed by Mr. James Innes Macintosh, who was for several years his private secretary when a Minister of the Crown.) He was one of the pioneers, along with the late John Patterson and the late John Moodie, in introducing Hydro-Electric power and long distance transmission of same in this country utilizing surplus water from the Welland Canal, and transmitting the power to Hamilton, where very soon many of the industrial and electric railways adopted the same, to the great advantage of the companies. For many years he was President of the Cataract Power Company. He is a Director of the Canadian Bank of Commerce, the Canada Life Assurance Company, the Toronto General Trusts Corporation, the Toronto Conservatory of Music, the Homewood Retreat at Guelph, the Dominion Power and Transmission Company, the Canadian Westinghouse Company, and several other industrial companies in Hamilton. He was married first in 1869 to Emily Annie, daughter of the late Rolph Birrell, of London, who died in 1874; second, in 1876 to Caroline, daughter of the late Senator Adam Hope, who died in 1877; and third, on May 18, 1881, to Elizabeth, daughter of the late Judge Malloch, of Brockville. He had six children, viz., John Gordon Gibson, who died shortly after taking his B.A. degree at the University of Toronto; Eugenia Elizabeth Emily; Margaret Mary Stewart, wife of Robert S. Waldie, of Toronto; Archibald Hope Gibson, Barrister; Captain Colin W. G. Gibson, of the Royal Fusiliers, who was twice severely wounded; and Francis Malloch Gibson, who went to the front as an officer of the 48th Highlanders at the commencement of the war and was killed in action near Armentieres. Sir John’s manner is dignified but affable, his style of speech clear and precise; in his movements he is deliberate, but with the elasticity of well-preserved middle age, while his expression is kindly but alert, with evidence of unlimited determination and unmistakable inclination and power to lead. When an active officer of the Militia he was recognized by his fellow-officers as a master of field manœuvres. The beautiful family residence, “Ravenscliffe,” is delightfully situated on the lower slope of the mountain, looking down Ravenscliffe Avenue, through a vista of stately elm trees.

=Mitchell, The Hon. Walter George= (Quebec City), Treasurer of the Province of Quebec, was born at Danby, in the County of Drummond. He is the son of the Hon. Senator William Mitchell, his mother’s maiden name being Miss Dora Goddard. His early education was matured at the Montreal High School and at the Bishop’s College school of Lennoxville. Thereafter he entered McGill University as an undergraduate, finally taking his degree of B.C.L. in 1901. On being admitted to practice at the Bar, he became connected with the law firm of Greenshields, Greenshields & Heneker. Two years after he became a prominent member of the firm of Laflamme, Mitchell and Callaghan, receiving his K.C. in 1912. In view of his being chosen by the Lieutenant-Governor to assume the duties of the Hon. P. S. G. Mackenzie, who had died suddenly, he was subsequently elected by acclamation as representative of the constituency of Richmond, a county which he continues to represent as Member of the Provincial Parliament, after a second election by acclamation. Prior to his assuming the office of Provincial Treasurer, Mr. Mitchell was in possession of a large and lucrative practice in Montreal. While actively engaged with his professional duties, as a leading lawyer, he did not fail to take an active interest in political affairs, and came into public prominence in the administration of the Montreal Reform Club. Through his efforts in co-operation with his associate members, new and attractive quarters for that club were erected on Sherbrooke Street; and, in 1913, he was chosen, by way of reward for his active services, the President of that flourishing institution, and in the following year was re-elected to the same office. From the date of the famous Drummond-Arthabaska election contest in 1910, Mr. Mitchell became more and more intimately identified with the political life of the Eastern Townships and its various electoral movements. During the winning of the constituency of Drummond-Arthabaska back to the Liberal interest in 1910, he was associated with Dr. Beland, later a prisoner of war in Germany, and was acclaimed everywhere as an eloquent and persuasive pleader in behalf of the naval policy of Sir Wilfrid Laurier. In fact, in 1911, it was to a large extent through Mr. Mitchell’s influence as an organizer, not to speak of his father’s unbroken popularity as a public man, and other influences, that the constituency of Drummond-Arthabaska was won over to the Liberal interest. As Provincial Treasurer, Mr. Mitchell has made a name for himself as a most successful financier, taking a prominent rank almost immediately as a parliamentary debater. Nor has he failed to share in remedial legislation, whenever such came up for consideration in the Provincial Parliament. He has interested himself particularly in modifying the Quebec License Law, fathering amendments to that law restricting the number of licenses, increasing the license fees, prohibiting treating, increasing the age limit, shortening the hours of sale, and urging an enactment to abolish the bars on the 1st of May, 1918, with immediate sanction to the Minister of Militia and Defence to declare any or all districts throughout the Province of Quebec “out of bounds” for soldiers and sailors. At his instance also the Quebec Insurance Act has been amended from time to time, so as to give better protection to the public. One of his most notable and highly patriotic acts in parliament since the war in Europe began, was his presentation of a Bill, asking authority to subscribe out of the public revenues in behalf of his native province a million of dollars to the Canadian Patriotic Fund—a proposal which met with an instant and unanimous approval from both chambers. Under his mature financial advice the Province of Quebec has spent millions of dollars in constructing and improving highways of nearly every district. And yet so prudently have the finances of the province been husbanded under his judicious oversight, that the provincial debt has virtually remained as easy a burden on the people as it ever has been, notwithstanding the large amounts spent on the highways, and the large increase in the grants to education, agriculture, and public works. Altogether Mr. Mitchell has won the highest credit as a parliamentarian and a financier, enjoying the full confidence of his colleagues and of many of his fellow legislators, irrespective of party lines. He was married on February the 4th, 1907, Mrs. Mitchell’s maiden name having been Miss Antonia Pelletier. Their family comprises two sons and three daughters.

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=Lesperance, Albert Paneran= (Montreal, Que.), General Manager, was born at Longueuil, Que., on September 17, 1860, and was educated at Longueuil and Montreal Business College, he is the Executor of the Estate of Henry Hogan, also the Estate Masson; is a Roman Catholic in religion and styles himself an Independent in politics; is a member of the Canadian Club, Montreal Board of Trade, and Chambre de Commerce, also Governor of Notre Dame Hospital. On May 10, 1890, he married Delima Bovin, the daughter of Leonard Bovin, a merchant, of St. Hyacinthe, Que., and has ten children: Juliette, Henri, Germain, Annette, Arthur, Simmonne, Irene, Therese, Suzanne and Paul.

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=Parsons, S. R.= (Toronto, Ont.), President of the British-American Oil Co., Ltd., Oil Refineries, was born in Port Hope, Ont., in 1854. Son of William and Margaret (Trick) Parsons. He received his education in the Public and Grammar Schools of that town and began business with the firm of James Campbell & Son, at that time extensive manufacturing stationers, and publishers of Toronto. After six years’ association with this firm he removed to Winnipeg and subsequently engaged in the wholesale stationery business as senior partner in Parsons, Bell & Co., which afterwards merged with the Consolidated Stationery Co., Ltd., of which he was President for a number of years. In 1882 Mr. Parsons married Anne Kate Helliwell, daughter of Rev. Thomas Lord Helliwell of Winnipeg, and has three daughters, Mrs. Chas. A. Withers, Mrs. Henry F. Gooderham, and Mrs. Errol A. Hethrington, all of Toronto. After sixteen years of successful business in Winnipeg, Mr. Parsons was compelled to leave the northern climate in the interest of his health and returned to Toronto where in 1906, along with others, he established the extensive business of which he continues the moving spirit. He has always taken an active interest in religious, social and philanthropic work and for many years has been a director of the Methodist Union. Since 1900 he has been Chairman of the Ontario Board of Directors, Canadian Fire Insurance Co., and is a member of the Northern Ontario Fire Relief Committee, and the Organization of Resources Committee of the Province of Ontario, also of the Ontario Executive of the Bonne Entente at whose meeting in the Chateau Frontenac, Quebec, in 1916, he was one of the principal speakers and put forward this three-plank platform: First—We ought to live together in sincerity, friendship and justice; Second—We ought to strive for a cleaner public life; Third—We ought to help maintain the integrity and strength of our great Empire. But it is in connection with his work in the Canadian Manufacturers Association that Mr. Parsons has come most prominently before the public, for though naturally being far from an aggressive man, when the burden of office was laid upon him he realized his responsibilities to the full and has frequently from the platform, in the press and in action given evidence of the reserve force that was in him. He was elected for four successive years (1911-1915) Chairman of the Transportation Committee of the Association; Second Vice-President in 1915, First Vice-President in 1916, and President at the Annual Meeting of the Association in Winnipeg in 1917. He was Chairman in 1917 of the Committee of Employers of Labor for the Province of Ontario to secure men to help in the harvest fields, an organization responsible for the saving of many millions in food stuffs. On assuming office as President of the C.M.A. Mr. Parsons delivered an inspiring inaugural address of a thoroughly business character, but progressive, loyal, ethical, liberal and humanitarian as well. In 1918 he was appointed a representative of the C.M.A. on the Federal Board for the settlement of Labor disputes. Writing of him on this occasion, “The Monetary Times” says: “He is a capable, energetic business man, with a frank and alert manner that wins confidence. The welfare of the Canadian Manufacturers Association is in good hands under his care. He is a type of Association President well able to smooth out many of the difficulties between capital and labor, having appreciation of the problems met by both.” Mr. William Lewis Edmonds writes at the same time in “Industrial Canada”: “While Mr. Parsons is strong as a business man, and particularly in the quality of executive ability, that is not the only direction in which his strength lies. He is a strong man all the way round. He is a man of strong opinions and particularly on subjects that approach the ethical in character, and having cultivated the habit of looking at controversial subjects from the other fellow’s perspective as well as his own, it is not a difficult thing to persuade him to change his attitude, provided the other fellow is right and he is wrong, but when once after carefully weighing the pros and cons, he is persuaded that he is right he’ll not surrender principles, although where non-essentials are the issue he will readily agree to a compromise. In judgment he is sound, and in insight keen and quick. Although not connected with either political party, Mr. Parsons takes a keen interest in public affairs, and practical movements which have for their object a betterment of conditions in state and society have his warm, and in many instances, his active sympathy.” Writing in the “Toronto Star Weekly,” Arthur Hawkes says: “Mr. Parson’s service in the Manufacturers Association has been real service, and not a still hunt for glory. In committee he is as cautious as strong, and as strong as wise. He looks often before he leaps and he can take a pretty good leap—the fundamental condition of which is that he shall have examined the jumping-off place and surveyed the spot where he intends to land. When he has made up his mind he doesn’t change it, which is because he is sound in judgment.” In concluding his quite lengthy sketch and referring particularly to Mr. Parsons’ political platform he says: “This is a pretty good creed. It is just like Parsons. If you know him you know an honest manufacturer, a broad Methodist, and a friend who is with you till daylight.” Of him, “Motoring” says: “He presented an excellent report to the C.M.A. convention as Chairman of the Special Committee on the Co-ordination of recruiting and production. He is a clear thinker and speaker and could probably quote from half a hundred authors. He is a keen business man and one who puts his best efforts into all he undertakes.” Mr. Parsons is not only a clear thinker but an apt phraser as may be judged from this clause in his inaugural address as President of the C.M.A.: “These are surely days for plain living and high thinking, days when there is a compression of life, and days which summon all that is heroic within us to stand like men in meeting our duties, whether they be personal, social, local or national.” In a speech before the Canadian Club of Orillia, in February, 1918, on “War-Time Business and Profits” which was endorsed by the C.M.A. Executive and published in the principal papers of Canada, Mr. Parsons said: “Canadians, let us know each other better, let us understand and sympathize with each other’s problems, for in that knowledge lies increased production, good feeling between city and country, prosperity in reason and fair play to all.” A strong desire for fair play and justice to all is the outstanding characteristic of Mr. Parsons’ whole attitude towards any question, and, while conservatively progressive he is so liberally and humanely so that his influence in the important association of which he is President cannot fail to be productive of better feeling between employer and employees. In manner Mr. Parsons is genial and easy of approach, a good conversationalist, well-read and with a ready and apt style of expression, but views every question apparently through ethical spectacles—a habit unfortunately not generally in vogue. He is a member of the National Club, Canadian Club, and Toronto Board of Trade. He is a Unionist in politics, and a member of the Methodist Church. His office is the 13th floor of the Royal Bank Building and his residence 139 Crescent Road, Toronto.

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=Forman, James C.= (Toronto, Ont.), Assessment Commissioner, a son of the late James Forman, one of the 93rd Highlanders, was born November 23, 1851, and received his education in the Public and Model Schools and British-American Commercial College. He occupied a position in a broker’s and insurance office for about two years, and then entered the employ of the wholesale dry goods firm of Dobbie and Carrie, remaining there for over four years. Mr. Forman, afterwards, while in the employ of the late George Warin, was offered a temporary position in the City Hall by the late Stephen Radcliff, City Clerk. He was permanently appointed in 1878 as Assessment Clerk, and gradually worked his way up the ladder until he assumed his present position in 1905, succeeding Mr. R. J. Fleming on the latter’s resignation. Mr. Forman has taken a close interest in assessment matters, having read papers before the Ontario Municipal Association and International Tax Association and is frequently selected to represent the City Council at their meetings. In 1903 he was in close touch with former Attorney-General Sir John Gibson in the preparing of the new Assessment Act. In October, 1908, he read a paper before the Internation Tax Association on “Business Assessments as a Substitute for Personal Property.” He takes the deepest interest in town planning and represented the City Council at Philadelphia, May, 1911, and the Board of Trade at Boston, reading a short paper at the latter city in May, 1912. He has prepared a report on the Single Tax Situation as he found it in the West, from Winnipeg to Victoria. Mr. Forman is in every respect a man who has done his share toward placing Toronto on its present high pinnacle of fame, and has won the esteem of all citizens by his safe and able administration of the office of Assessment Commissioner. He is a man of undoubted integrity, with keen instinct and a pleasing countenance. He is a warm adherent, an active worker and for several years occupant of the post of “People’s Warden” of St. Matthew’s Church, First Avenue. He has refused several flattering offers from the leading real estate concerns of this city, preferring to remain in his present position.