Two Tom Whites.
There have been two Thomas Whites in the House, and both of them distinguished members. It is not of the later meteoric Sir Thomas White, who did such great work in finance during the war that I am writing, but Hon. Thomas White, of the Montreal Gazette, who represented, as later did his son, Robert S., the Ontario constituency of Cardwell, now merged into Dufferin. In 1885, he entered Sir John Macdonald’s Cabinet as Minister of the Interior, and his excellent administration of the affairs of that department brought him many friends among staunch Liberals. He was frank and outspoken in his words, and while he displeased many westerners by openly telling them that they were spoon-fed, his honest and courageous course in dealing with intricate western matters won their admiration. He was a pleasing and convincing speaker and had always a full grasp of his subject. When he passed away, Canada lost a great statesman.
It was in July, 1886, that he visited the Pacific Coast, and one day in Vancouver, he accosted me with, “Oh, George, I am going over to Port Moody (then the western terminus of the C.P.R.) to meet the mayor and citizens. Come along.” When we reached Port Moody there was a goodly-sized crowd who enthusiastically welcomed Mr. White. Mayor Scott, togged out in his Sunday best, proceeded to read the usual address, and when he had finished reading it, he turned to Mr. White and remarked, “Mr. White, you will excuse this short but brief address.”
Of course a lot of us couldn’t help but snicker, but Mr. White, with a suppressed smile on his beaming countenance, never blinked an eye-lash, and made a happy reply, which was received with such loud applause that he had time to laugh all by himself.