Evanturel, Francis Eugene Alfred, LL.B., St. Victor d’Alfred, M.P.P. for Prescott, was born at Quebec, on 31st August, 1849. He is the eldest son of the Hon. Francis Evanturel, who was minister of agriculture in the Macdonald-Sicotte administration in 1862. His grandfather, François Evanturel, after serving in the French army under Napoleon Bonaparte, when he took part in some of his great battles, emigrated to Canada and settled in Quebec, where he died. Mr. Evanturel received his education at the Seminary of Quebec, and after completing his classical studies at that institution, followed the law course of Laval University, graduated B.A. and LL.B. in 1870, and was admitted to the bar of the province of Quebec in January, 1872. He then entered into partnership with the late Judge McCord, and they practised for a year under the firm name of McCord & Evanturel. At that period he was offered a position in the civil service at Ottawa; he accepted and removed to the latter city, where he remained for several years. During his residence in Ottawa he took a prominent part in the organization of the Institut-Canadien and St. Jean Baptiste Society. He was elected school trustee in 1874, for the most important ward—Wellington—of Ottawa, and held the position for two years. In 1878 he resigned his position in the civil service and removed to Prescott county, where the French population was fast coming to the front, and had no interpreter before the public and the courts. In 1883 he presented himself to the electorate of the county of Prescott, for the Provincial legislature, against Mr. Hagar, the old member, and was defeated by a few votes. At the last general election, however (December, 1886), he again entered the field against James Molloy, and was elected by a majority of 200, as a supporter of the Mowat administration. Mr. Evanturel had always been a supporter of the Tory party until that period, but the savage attacks of the Mail upon the French Canadians and the Catholics of the country, coupled with the intolerance and bigotry displayed by a certain portion of the population of Ontario, caused him to sever his connection with the Conservatives, and become an out-and-out Liberal. He did effective work in the county of Ottawa during the by-election held in that county in September, 1887, and it was largely due to his exertions that Mr. Rochon, mayor of Hull, was elected to the legislature of Quebec by an immense majority (over 1,200), as a supporter of the Mercier cabinet. Mr. Evanturel, who is a distinguished English scholar, and an eloquent and forcible speaker, had the honor to be chosen by the Hon. Mr. Mowat to second the address in reply to the speech from the Throne, at the opening of the session of 1887, of the Ontario legislature. The speech he delivered on this occasion was highly praised, even by the newspapers which are the bitterest foes of the race he so ably represents in the legislature. A couple of obscure sheets tried to cast aspersions on his able effort, and yet the manly and independent stand he took forced the admiration of all, and he was accorded “British fair play,” in the broadest sense of the term, by almost the entire community of Ontario. He was also greatly admired for his attitude on the home rule question when it was brought up in the legislature during the same session. Having inherited the chivalrous nature of his ancestors, he could not see a people oppressed without raising his voice on their behalf. Mr. Evanturel has a bright future before him, and the capabilities he displayed on the threshold of his parliamentary career will soon bring him to the front rank of the able politicians of the country, and he will thus enjoy the pre-eminence attained by his father in Canadian politics. He was invited by the French societies of the counties of Essex, Russell, Glengarry, etc., to deliver orations on important occasions. As a writer, Mr. Evanturel is well known, having contributed several articles on political topics to the English and French press, and at the present time he is editor-in-chief of L’Interpréte, a newspaper published at Alfred, Ontario, in the interests of the French population of Eastern Ontario. In 1873 he married Louisa Lee, granddaughter of the late Justice Van Felson, judge of the Superior Court for the district of Montreal, by whom he has issue two children, one son and one daughter.
Jolliffe, Rev. William John, B.C.L., Methodist Minister, Quebec city, was born in Liskeard, Cornwall, England, on the 22nd December, 1846. His father, John Jolliffe, who was born in Liskeard, was reared in the Church of England, but when a young man joined the Methodist denomination. His mother, Ann Berbeck Vyvyan, was a native of Plymouth, in Devonshire, England. She died in 1873. The Rev. Mr. Jolliffe’s father, intending his son to follow business, educated him in the public and private schools of his native place, the former of which he left when thirteen years of age. But young Jolliffe, having a strong impression that he would some day enter the ministry, and, being very fond of reading, his further studies were pursued with that end in view. On his eighteenth birthday he preached his first sermon. While preparing to enter the ministry in England he was induced by the late Rev. Mr. Saunders, then of Oshawa, Ontario, who was at that time on a visit to Britain, to come out to Canada. Accordingly he left his native land, and landed in Quebec in November, 1868. Proceeding west he was appointed a junior preacher in the Bowmanville circuit, the Rev. Richard Whiting, now an ex-president of the Montreal Conference, being his first superintendent. He was ordained in London, Ontario, in June, 1873, the Rev. Dr. Rice being the president of the conference. While stationed in Montreal the Rev. Mr. Jolliffe entered McGill University as a law student, and graduated in 1882 with the degree of B.C.L. For some time he was stationed at Coaticooke, a growing town in the Eastern Townships, province of Quebec; and is now pastor of the Methodist Church in the ancient capital. He is also chairman of the Quebec district. The Rev. Mr. Jolliffe, we have no hesitation in saying, is a minister of very superior abilities, “rightly dividing” and clearly expounding the Word of God. He has been highly esteemed in every station he has occupied, and may be considered in every respect a fine example of what a Christian minister should be—faithful to duty, and most courteous in his intercourse with all classes of the community. He has been active in all good works, especially in the temperance movement, and been connected with the Sons of Temperance and the Good Templars. In politics he has always voted for the man and not the party. While in England he was allied with the Liberal party, and would still be if he were residing there, but in Canada his sympathies incline to the Conservative party. Rev. Mr. Jolliffe has two brothers in the Methodist ministry: the Rev. C. E. Jolliffe, now stationed in England, and the Rev. E. Jolliffe, a missionary in British Honduras. While a strong believer in the doctrines of the Methodist church, the Rev. Mr. Jolliffe is in favor of the extension of the pastoral term, and believes, as many others also do, that it would be in the interests of the church as a whole if the time-honored system of frequent changes were abolished. He was married on the 8th of July, 1874, to Clara Robinson, fifth daughter of Isaac Robinson, of Toronto.
Armstrong, Hon. James, Q.C., C.M.G., Sorel, province of Quebec, son of Charles Logie Armstrong, descendant of a United Empire loyalist, and of Marjory Ferguson, daughter of Alexander Ferguson, of Restigouche, district of Gaspé, was born at Berthier, province of Quebec, in 1821. He was educated at Berthier and Sorel academies, and called to the Quebec bar, 1844. Mr. Armstrong was appointed Crown prosecutor for the district of Richelieu in 1864, and as such conducted the trial of Provencher, for the murder of Joutras, poisoned by strychnine, being the first case actually tried for such an offence in Canada, and when the “color test” of Messrs. Girdwood & Rogers was established. The Evening Telegraph of the 15th April, 1867, referring to the celebrated trial, said: “The crime was clearly proved on a trial of unusual length. We mention the matter particularly now to express in a marked manner our appreciation of the way in which the case was got up and conducted throughout for the Crown. Having followed it day by day, and carefully gone over the evidence since, we feel justified in saying that there has not been these twenty years in Lower Canada a criminal case of the magnitude and difficulty so carefully and thoroughly prepared, and so completely and convincingly placed before the jury. If it lacked the fire-work flashes of eloquence, to which too many criminal lawyers trust, it showed at every step of its long course the true genius, intelligence directing patient labor in mastering every difficulty, seeking for, finding, and welding into one chain the many far scattered and deep hidden links of evidence.” He was appointed chief justice of St. Lucia, West Indies, 1871, where the old French law was in force, and in 1880 to the chief justiceship of Tobago, which he held, conjointly with that of St. Lucia. He was created a companion of the most distinguished order of Saint Michael and Saint George in 1879. He is author of a “Treatise on the Law of Marriage of the Province of Quebec,” and of the “Law of Intestacy of the Dominion” (1886). In conjunction with Sir George William Desveaux, then governor, he prepared the civil code of St. Lucia, based in a great measure upon that of Quebec in civil matters, and succeeded in having laws passed by the legislature, enacting that the laws of England should prevail in commercial and criminal matters. He afterwards prepared a code of civil procedure. He received the thanks of the Legislative Council of St. Lucia “for the great service rendered by him in the preparation of the codes.” He resigned office in December, 1881. The governor, in announcing this to the Legislature, said: “He regretted to have to inform the Council that he had received a despatch from the Secretary of State, notifying him of the retirement of Chief Justice Armstrong, which he considered would be a serious loss to the colony.” The Legislature passed a vote of thanks embodying the opinion of the governor. In a despatch to the Earl of Kimberley, the governor wrote: “I cannot close this despatch without placing on record my appreciation of the invaluable services rendered to the colony by Mr. Armstrong during his term of office of chief justice,” and after mentioning Mr. Armstrong’s labors on the code and revision of the statutes, added: “Measures such as these will stamp Mr. Armstrong’s term of office as one which, whilst reflecting the greatest credit upon himself, will be remembered in this island as the inauguration of a new and more simple machinery for the administration of law and justice.” Mr. Armstrong was appointed, in 1886, by the Dominion government, a member of the commission for the purpose, among others, of inquiring into and reporting upon the subject of labor, its relation to capital, and to inquire into and report on the practical operations of courts of arbitration and conciliation in the settlement of disputes between employers and employees, and the best mode of settling disputes. He is married to Charlotte, daughter of the late Major Hercule Olivier, who was wounded in the engagement at Plattsburg, in 1812.
Steeves, Chipman Archibald, Barrister, Moncton, New Brunswick, was born at Hillsborough, N.B., on the 28th of January, 1880. His father, Joseph A. Steeves, was descended from a German family, formerly called “Steiff,” a common name in Germany, who, after leaving Fatherland, resided for some time in Pennsylvania, and then made their home in New Brunswick a few years before the arrival of the U. E. loyalists. His mother, Rebecca Taylor, is of Irish descent, her people having come from the north of Ireland. Mr. Steeves was educated at the public schools in Albert county, and at the Baptist Seminary in Fredericton; and studied law with the present Judge Palmer, at St. John, N.B. He was admitted an attorney on the 21st October, 1876. In September, 1878, Mr. Steeves was appointed by the Mackenzie government official assignee under the Insolvency Act of 1875, for the county of Westmoreland, and this office he held until the repeal of the law. At present he is one of the school trustees for the town of Moncton, and is also a member of the Moncton town council. From early youth he has been connected with the temperance movement, though at this moment he is not a member of any of the existing temperance organizations. Mr. Steeves has travelled, accompanied by his wife, through portions of the United States and Europe, and has visited Rome and Naples, and been up Vesuvius and down into the Catacombs. He was brought up in the Baptist faith, and is a member of the Baptist church. On the 15th November, 1877, he was married, at St. John, N.B., to a daughter of Dr. W. Y. Theal, formerly of that city. This lady has a number of brothers and sisters, one of whom, George M. Theal, resides in, and fills a government position at, Cape Town, South Africa, and has written and published several works on the history, geography, and folk-lore of Africa, which have been adopted and used in public schools. Mr. Steeves has two brothers, who are masters of British iron steamers, and one sister, who is married, and resides in St. John, N.B.
Bourinot, John George, LL.D., Ottawa, Honorary Secretary of the Royal Society of Canada, Fellow of the Statistical Society of London, Honorary Corresponding Secretary of the Royal Colonial Institute, Clerk of the House of Commons, Canada, and author of several important works and essays, was born at Sydney, Nova Scotia, on the 24th of October, 1836. He is a son of the late Hon. J. Bourinot, senator of the Dominion, and grandson of Judge Marshall, of Nova Scotia. His mother was a daughter of the late Judge Marshall, well-known as an advocate of temperance, and for his works on religious and social topics. His father’s family came originally from Normandy, were Huguenots, and settled in the Island of Jersey. The Marshalls were Irish originally. The father of Judge Marshall was a captain in the British army, and a loyalist. In his early days Mr. Bourinot received his intellectual training under the tutorship of the Rev. W. Y. Porter, at Sydney. The preceptor saw much promise in the lad, and often spoke highly of his quickness and perception, and of the strength of his intellectual grasp. When this period of tutorship was over, his father conceived the idea of sending him to the University of Trinity College, Toronto. At college young Bourinot distinguished himself, and he always was a prominent figure in his class. His industry frequently called forth admiration; and he secured the Wellington and other scholarships. When he left college he could not easily decide upon a calling. It was with the young graduate as it has been with all men possessed of a pervading literary instinct. He was restive, and looked with dissatisfaction at any course of life that promised only a drudgery and a routine, removed from the dear aspiration that was in him. The newspaper press has always afforded a sort of escapement for literary yearning; and as was quite natural to expect, to the newspaper press the young man attached himself in the meantime. He became parliamentary reporter and editor, continuing in such position for some time. Subsequently, in 1860, he established the Halifax Reporter, and was chief editor of that journal for a number of years. From 1861 to the year of confederation, Mr. Bourinot was likewise chief official reporter of the Nova Scotia Assembly. In 1863 he was appointed to the Senate as shorthand writer, and this office he retained until appointed second clerk assistant of the House of Commons, in April, 1873. In February, 1879, he was appointed first clerk assistant, and on the 18th of December, 1880, he became chief clerk of the House of Commons. Through the greater part of his life Mr. Bourinot has been a tireless literary worker, and his articles are remembered by all who take an interest in the discussion of important public questions. His essay on the “Intellectual Development of Canada,” which appeared in the pages of the “Canadian Monthly,” was a careful, elaborate and valuable treatise on the intellectual development of the colonies as an unwedded brotherhood, and of Canada subsequent to the union. He has contributed to many leading papers of this continent, to the Toronto Mail in its inception, and to the New York World. He was for years one of the best known contributors to the “Canadian Monthly.” His desire has always been to create a love for Canadian subjects. He has contributed papers to the Royal Colonial Institute, which have attracted much attention. One of these papers, which referred to the federation of the empire, was deemed so important that Justin McCarthy devoted a whole chapter of his “History of our Times” to its consideration. An article in “Blackwood” (to which he has been one of the very few Canadian contributors), on the “Progress of the New Dominion,” was reviewed by the London Times as “the best article that has yet appeared on the subject in a British periodical.” He has also written other papers in the “Westminster Review,” the “London Quarterly,” the “Scottish Review,” and other leading British periodicals, with the view of making Canada better known to the British world. A monograph on “Local Government in Canada,” which appeared in 1886, attracted much attention in England and Canada, and was reprinted in the series of historical and political science, which is published by the Johns Hopkins University, Maryland. Of late years he has devoted his leisure time for the most part to constitutional and parliamentary studies, and has written a large work on “The Practice and Procedure of Parliament, with a review of the origin and growth of parliamentary institutions in the Dominion of Canada,” which has been most favorably reviewed in England and Canada, and has already been accepted as a constitutional authority in every dependency of the Crown. The London Times, in a three-column review, wrote most approvingly of the work, and the Australian press has also noticed it in very eulogistic terms. Mr. Bourinot is an advocate of the grand idea of Imperial Federation, and a member of the executive committee appointed at a public meeting in Montreal, in May, 1885, with the object of promoting the scheme. In April, 1887, Mr. Bourinot received the honorary degree of LL.D. from Queen’s University, Kingston. Mr. Bourinot was married in October, 1865, to Emily Alden Pilsbury, daughter of the American consul at Halifax, who was distinguished for her remarkable beauty and many accomplishments. She died in September, 1887, amid the regrets of a very large circle of friends. She belonged to a well-known family of Maine, which is connected with that of the famous Governor Endicott, who played so important a part in the annals of the old colonial times of New England.