Part 63

In 1881, following his removal from St. Hyacinthe to Montreal, Mr. Mercier became a law partner of Messrs. Beausoleil & Martineau and was again called into the field of political activity when in December, 1881, at the general provincial election he was chosen by acclamation for his old constituency, St. Hyacinthe. In the beginning of the session of 1883 Hon. Mr. Joly resigned the direction of the provincial liberal party and Mr. Mercier was unanimously chosen his successor, on motion of Mr. Joly, as the leader of the opposition. Here his dominant qualities found fitting scope, his ability and qualities of leadership placing him within a brief period among the foremost French-Canadian statesmen. Within the short space of three years he demonstrated what could be accomplished by an able and intrepid leader with the support of a small but disciplined and trusty band of parliamentary followers to retrieve the fallen fortunes of his party and to defend and lead to victory a popular cause the moment circumstances placed it in his hands.

As the accepted leader of the new national party formed by a combination of liberals and conservative bolters, Mr. Mercier not only directed the whole movement but personally traversed the province of Quebec almost from end to end, addressing as many as one hundred and sixty meetings and leaving the impress of his influence as a factor in the promotion of his cause. The election of October, 1886, resulted in a victory for the nationals. After the struggle, which ensued in the final overthrow of the Ross administration, Mr. Mercier was called upon by the lieutenant governor to form a new cabinet and in less than twenty-four hours, as a result of his quick decisions and promptness in action, he had made choice of his colleagues, announcing the result to the legislature and the country, both receiving it with marked satisfaction.

The close of the first session found him more popular and more firmly established in the good graces of the people than ever, a position that was augmented later by the marvelous success of his administration as evidenced in the settlement of the long pending dispute with Ontario respecting the division of the common school fund and the unusually advantageous negotiation of the new provincial loan of three and a half millions. His adversaries attributed these and other valuable results to good luck, but a real student of politics knows that good management and thorough understanding of the situation lay back of them. Mr. Mercier remained in power until December, 1891, when he was dismissed by Lieutenant Governor Angers as a result of an investigation held by a royal commission on what then became known as the Baie des Chaleurs Scandal.

On March 8, 1892, at the general elections, though Mr. Mercier was returned for Bonaventure, which he had represented since the general elections of 1890, his party was annihilated and he ceased to be a factor in provincial politics.

Following his retirement to private life he joined his son-in-law, Sir Lomer Gouin, and Mr. R. Lemieux in a law partnership, but he rarely appeared in court. However, he won the highest professional honors. He was actually the attorney-general as well as the premier of Quebec. He was twice batonnier of the bar of the Montreal district, and the respect entertained for him by his legal colleagues was so great that they unanimously elevated him to the still more distinguished eminence of batonnier-general of the bar of the province. Of him it has been written: “Heralded to the world as the apostle of an advanced radicalism which in reality had no representative in this country, he not only preached but practiced a different gospel and in office proved himself unusually moderate and conciliatory as well as a man of broad and generous views, free from sectionalism and exceedingly anxious to do justice to all races, classes and creeds, yet fully determined to work out the regeneration of his native province on the great lines of reform which he ever regarded as essential to that desirable end.”

Mr. Mercier held to the religious faith of the French-Canadians--that of the Roman Catholic church and his loyal adherence thereto increased with the passing years. There was a time, however, when, on account of his political liberalism and alliances, his orthodoxy was more than once seriously questioned by his political foes to his personal and party detriment. This, however, passed by and the Papal authority conceded that a man may be a liberal in politics and yet a good Catholic, while the clergy of Lower Canada came to know that he was not only a devoted churchman in theory and practice, but also that the interests of Catholicism were as safe in his hands as in those of its self-constituted champions who proclaimed their zeal for the faith from the housetops. There was in him nothing of narrow-minded bigotry and perhaps no prominent statesman or political leader of his day has shown himself so free from religious or sectional bias in the conduct of affairs relating to the entire community. A French-Canadian in heart and soul and a thorough son of the soil, still, “strict and impartial justice to all classes, races and creeds and undue favor to none,” seems to have been the motto upon which Honore Mercier always acted. In 1893 he undertook a campaign in favor of the independence of Canada and advocated this both here and in the United States, but with no tangible results. Though received enthusiastically in the eastern states, he met with a rebuff in Chicago, and abandoned the campaign to resume his practice in Montreal.

Two notable features in his life history were the torchlight procession in his honor in Montreal following his return from Europe, and the reception he tendered the ex-Papal zouaves at his country seat at Ste. Anne de la Perade, when he distributed the medals awarded them by the pope. On that occasion Mr. Mercier appeared in the gorgeous uniform of commander of the Order of St. Gregory the Great--the first time it had been seen in Canada. The wide recognition given his ability is attested by a partial list of the honors conferred upon him. Not only did he receive the grand cross of the Order of St. Gregory the Great from the pope but His Holiness also raised him to the rank of count. He was in addition to these honors officer of the Legion of Honor; commander of the Order of Leopold I, King of the Belgians; and chevalier of the Order of St. Sepulcher. He was made queen’s counsel and received the degree of Doctor of Laws from Laval University, the University of Fordham, New York, and the University of Georgetown.

A man of his ability and eminence could not fail to have enemies, but he had also hosts of friends. He possessed that quality which, for want of a better term, has been called magnetism. He was most generous and ever had a helping hand out-reaching to those who needed assistance. His residence both in Montreal and in Quebec was always filled with his admirers. It has been said repeatedly that his so-called friends were largely responsible for any errors that he may have committed. He was particularly helpful to young men, many of whom have reason to remember him with gratitude. It was his delight to assist a struggling youth in his law studies or in other ways.

Mr. Mercier was twice married. On the 29th of May, 1866, he wedded Leopoldine Boivin of St. Hyacinthe, who died leaving a daughter who subsequently married Sir Lomer Gouin and who is now deceased. On the 9th of May, 1871, Honore Mercier married Virginie St. Denis, also of St. Hyacinthe, and they had two sons and one daughter to reach adult age, Honore, Paul-Emile and Héva. The elder son is a member of the Gouin cabinet and a sketch of his life appears elsewhere in this work. The younger son is a civil and consulting engineer and is mentioned elsewhere in this history. Héva married Dr. Homère Fauteux and resides in Beauceville.

The death of Hon. Honore Mercier occurred October 30, 1894, on which occasion the Montreal Daily Star said editorially: “The career of the late Hon. Honore Mercier is one that will long live on the lips of those who delight in political reminiscences of this historic province. He played a conspicuous role in the political drama; and, while he was on the stage, pretty well absorbed the attention of the multitude. That he was a man of rare ability in many ways, his swift attainment of the highest positions in Quebec amply attests.

“It is too late in the day for those who contributed to his overthrow in ’92 to make mawkish pretension of blindness to his faults, but it may truly be said that he gained striking success in spite of his faults, and, further, that it was his own hand that turned the current of destiny against him. Like all strong characters, he made many warm personal friends, and there will be more sincere mourning at his bier than falls to the lot of most mortals.”

Senator L. O. David, an intimate and lifelong friend of Mr. Mercier, in making a parallel between the three most popular men of our time, Laurier, Chapleau and Mercier, has written of the latter: “Mercier is the heaviest of the three, the strongest built and the most muscular; he is tall, with black eyes and hair and a heavy mustache--a veritable type of musketeer--the personification of strength and energy. He walks heavily with the assurance of a man who believes that the earth belongs to him. Mercier is the most solid, the most vigorous and the most penetrating. Penetrating is, indeed, the word which best describes his eloquence. See his movements; they resemble those of the axeman who strikes the tree at the root and at each blow removes a chip. Mercier is a parliamentary orator, a lawyer, a tribune. He is the strongest, cleverest, and most indefatigable speaker whom I have heard in the house or on the hustings. While I write these words I learn that he is dead. Is it possible that so much of life and intellect are gone forever? What a loss! How little we mortals are! Alas; had he struggled to preserve his health as he fought to regain it, he would not have died so young. Yes, so young, because he was built to live thirty or forty years more. Death has seldom met a more valiant fighter; it has vanquished him, but he died almost standing, as he often said he would.

“Before the grave, which opens to receive his mortal remains, criticism will disarm, no doubt, to render homage to the splendor and power of his intelligence, his political genius, to the energy of his character and the sincerity of his patriotism. Through all the vicissitudes of a stormy life, in spite of his faults and weaknesses, he preserved until the last moment all the fervor of the religious and patriotic sentiments of his youth. Of all the political men I have known, he is the one who, in all things and under all circumstances, was most given to consider questions from a national standpoint. He was frankly, sincerely, profoundly patriotic and without fanaticism. Few men have had more devoted friends, enthusiastic admirers, and secured more brilliant triumphs and undergone such crushing defeats. He was stronger in defeat than in victory. Much will be forgiven him because he suffered much.”

HON. HENRI C. BERRYER-SAINT-PIERRE.

The subject of this short biographical sketch was born at Ste. Madeleine de Rigaud, during a short stay of his parents in that parish, on the 13th day of September 1842, but was brought up at Isle Bizard, on the Lake of Two Mountains, near Montreal. His father, a farmer, was Joseph Berryer-Saint-Pierre of Isle Bizard, and his mother, Demitilde Denis dit Saint-Denis, who had been born at Pointe Claire. Young Henri received his classical and literary education at the old Montreal College on Collège Street near McGill Street. On leaving college he was sent up to Kingston, Ontario, where he began his law course, the object in sending him up there being to give him an opportunity of improving his knowledge of the English language. Having passed the required examinations for his admission to the study of the law, he availed himself of the permission which had been granted him to go and visit Niagara falls and the city of Buffalo. The great battle of Gettysburg had just been fought and won by the northern army, and on his arrival at Buffalo, he found the people delirious with the news of the recent victory. Our young student, who had inherited from his ancestors a marked taste for the military career (a career by the way for which there were but few openings for a young French Canadian in those days, in Canada), was altogether carried away by the enthusiastic demonstrations which he then witnessed and made up his mind to give up the doleful study of Blackstone to enter the American army. A short time later, the runaway student was a member of Company F in the Seventy-sixth New York Volunteers. At the battle of Mine Run which was fought on the 27th November, 1863, he was wounded and reported as dead at the regiment. The same report having been reproduced in the Montreal papers, the usual service for the dead was celebrated for him at the Montreal College and at Isle Bizard where his widowed mother was living. He was picked up from the field however by the southern cavalry and sent to the military prison of Belle Island in the city of Richmond from which he was later on transferred to Andersonville in Georgia. After the capture of Atlanta, he was removed with the other prisoners first to Savannah, and then to Florence and finally to Charleston’s race ground in South Carolina, where he regained his liberty in the spring of 1865 on the city being evacuated by the southern troops. On his return to Montreal after the war, he resumed his legal studies first in the office of Sir George Etienne Cartier, for whom he, for a time, acted as private secretary, and later on in that of the Hon. J. J. C. Abbott who some years afterward became premier of Canada.

He was admitted to the bar in June, 1870. His career at the Montreal bar was a most successful and brilliant one, and he soon became one of the leading lawyers in the province of Quebec, being particularly noted for his success as a criminal lawyer. His record as such was never surpassed at least in his province and but seldom equalled anywhere. It is said that he pleaded not less than thirty-three cases of murder, securing complete acquittals in most of them. Not one of those he defended was ever found guilty of murder in the first degree and sentenced to be hanged, except Shortis who had killed two men at Valleyfield and wounded dangerously a third one. In this last case, the plea of impulsive insanity was urged for the first time in the province of Quebec as a ground of defense and proved successful in the end in spite of the verdict of the jury. Shortis is today detained in the penitentiary of Kingston as “a dangerous lunatic.” Judge Saint-Pierre frequently associated in the defence of persons accused of serious crimes with Donald MacMaster, K. C., now a member of the English parliament, who was his intimate friend.

In 1889, he was created a queen’s counsel by the Earl of Aberdeen. Judge Saint-Pierre never showed any great inclination for politics but confined his labor and efforts more particularly to secure the highest position in his profession as a lawyer. Being a liberal, he consented however to be the nominee of the liberal party in the county of Jacques-Cartier, for the local seat in 1878 against the old member, but was defeated by a small majority.

He was married in 1874 to Marie Albina Lesieur, daughter of Adolphe Lesieur, a merchant of Terrebonne. She died on the 19th December, 1908, leaving five children, three boys and two girls who are all married and settled. In 1902 on the occasion of his being raised to the bench, he was made an officer of the order of the Crown of Italy upon a petition presented to the King of Italy by the Italian colony at Montreal supported by the Italian consul.

Judge Saint-Pierre has been the organizer of the Canadian Veterans as a body and has been their honorary president ever since their organization some fourteen years ago.

His eminent ability as a legist led eventually to his appointment to the bench. He was first named for the district of Beauharnois on the retirement of Hon. Mr. Justice Belanger in June, 1902, and was transferred to Montreal in March, 1909, so that he is now presiding over the district of Montreal. His decisions are strictly fair and impartial and render him the peer of the ablest men who have presided over Montreal’s courts.

The Judge is a Roman Catholic of the broad liberal school. He is known to be a great admirer of British institutions though much attached to the French civil law which he holds to be superior to the common law of England.

The press has united in passing high encomiums upon him. The Montreal Herald styled him “a man of great vigor.” The Montreal Star spoke of him as broad-minded and public-spirited. The Toronto Star said “Judge Berryer-Saint-Pierre is gifted with fine powers of eloquence and is broad-minded and tolerant.” Perhaps his lofty patriotism is best indicated in his own utterance: “Be English, be Scotch, be French, be Irish, if you will,” he often said in his public utterance, “but above and before all, let us all be Canadians.” Judge Saint-Pierre’s residence is at 2330 Park Avenue, Montreal.

DONALD FORBES ANGUS.

Successfully operating in mercantile circles, Donald Forbes Angus has also extended his efforts along those lines whereby are promoted aesthetic culture and humanitarian interests, thus rendering his life a serviceable factor in the world’s work. A son of Richard Bladworth Angus, he was educated in England and Germany and in February, 1894, was united in marriage to Miss Mary Ethel Henshaw, the daughter of the late F. W. Henshaw.

In his business connections Mr. Angus has so directed his efforts that substantial results have accrued, and he is today a prominent figure in commercial circles as director of the Intercolonial Coal Company and of the Paton Manufacturing Company, both of which are important forces in the business progress of the city. He is also director of the Bank of Montreal; director of the Standard Life Assurance Company; and vice president of the Guardian Accident & Guarantee Company. In these connections Mr. Angus bends his efforts to executive administration and control, and his ability to correctly judge between the essential and the nonessential, utilizing the one and discarding the other, and his power to coordinate seemingly diverse elements into a harmonious whole have been strong features in his growing success.

Mr. Angus is a popular member of several of the leading clubs of Montreal, including St. James, Mount Royal and the Montreal Jockey Clubs--associations which indicate much of the nature of his interests and the source of his recreation. He is also a life member of the Art Association and is a friend and patron of art. He is likewise a governor and a member of the executive committee of the Fraser Institute of Montreal.

HENRY HOLGATE.

Not only is Henry Holgate one of the foremost civil engineers of Montreal, but he is also an author of no mean talents on professional and other subjects. He is now engaged in private practice after a long and strenuous career with various large organizations and of late has designed and built several large hydraulic power plants for transmission of electric power. He is a member of several arbitration committees, a past vice president of the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers, a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and a councillor of the American Institute of Consulting Engineers.