Boire, Louis Henri Napoleon, Manager of the Three Rivers Branch of the Banque d’Hochelaga, was born on the 17th of February, 1850, in the parish of St. Philippe, county of Laprairie, province of Quebec, of well-to-do parents. After attending for five or six years the country school of the place of his birth, he entered, at the age of twelve, the Montreal College, where he remained three years, after which he became a scholar in the Jacques Cartier Normal School in Montreal, where he followed the whole course of studies with a decided and marked success. Later on, in May, 1869, he was admitted to the study of medicine, but gave it up to enter on a business career; and for this purpose he became a student in the Montreal Business College, and after a few months he graduated from this institution. The following years, of which a few months were passed in Manitoba, he was employed as accountant or bookkeeper in Montreal mercantile houses, when, in September, 1874, he was appointed accountant in the Joliette branch of the Banque d’Hochelaga, and six months later, in March, 1875, he was made manager of the same branch. Here he remained until February, 1885, and was then appointed manager of the Three Rivers branch of the same bank, and in that town he has resided since. He was married in January, 1876, to M. Lea Cornellier, of Joliette, P.Q., daughter of the late E. Cornellier, a retired merchant.
Wade, Edward Harper, Quebec, was born in 1846, in what was formerly known as “the good old town of Liverpool.” His father, Samuel Mosley Wade, and his grandfather, Samuel Wade, were long engaged as brokers in the cotton trade of that port, and his mother was a daughter of the late Richard Harper, of Low Hill, Liverpool. He received his commercial training in the office of Sharples, Jones & Co., who then carried on a large wholesale importing business in Quebec timber in connection with their Canadian house. His father having been lost at sea in the Royal Charter, when returning from a visit to Australia, he was apprenticed to the firm named, by his uncle and guardian, the late Thomas Wilson, a well-known Liverpool shipbuilder. Indentures were drawn up in the good old-fashioned style, binding the apprentice to five years’ service in consideration of being taught the trade and business of a timber merchant. This engagement was faithfully carried out on both sides, and every opportunity given for the acquisition of such knowledge of all timber mysteries as the Canada Dock Quay, or the town office of the firm, afforded; and the lesson of straightforward and truthful dealing and liberal fulfilment of all business obligations and promises was duly inculcated. After the expiration of the term named he remained three years with the firm, and was then transferred to the Quebec office of C. & J. Sharples & Co. The Quebec firm became John Sharples, Sons & Co., and the Liverpool house Henry Sharples, Son & Co., and all the senior partners had passed away before he left the employ at the end of 1877, having for several previous years travelled on contracting business in all parts of the United Kingdom, but especially in Ireland and North Wales, districts then largely importing Quebec goods. At that time this portion of the business seldom fell into such young hands, but the high standing and careful shipments of the firm served the young salesman well, and enabled him to continue and extend the connection of the house in the districts specially left to his care. Many little ports that are now entirely or almost altogether supplied from larger centres at that time imported several Quebec timber cargoes each year, and districts which now consume little besides pitch pine, spruce deals and Baltic goods were good customers for Canadian white pine, then commonly called yellow pine. At the end of 1877 he entered into business arrangements with the old and well-known Quebec firm of Roberts, Smith & Co. The parting between Messrs. Sharples and himself was characterized by the greatest good feeling on both sides, and the long connection left behind it a warm friendship that has never been disturbed in the slightest degree, even during the keen competition of the most trying selling seasons. His respect and esteem for all members of the family have always been strongly expressed, and their kindly feeling towards him has remained unchanged. For three years he continued as salesman with Roberts, Smith & Co., with a percentage on the profits of the business; and on Mr. Joseph Roberts retiring in 1880, he was taken into partnership by Mr. R. H. Smith, and the firm was continued under the style of Smith, Wade & Co. Taught by the sound judgment and thorough practical knowledge of timber and its classification and by the long experience of all points connected with Quebec contracting possessed by Mr. Roberts, and instructed in sound principles of finance, banking, and details of management by Mr. Smith, whose qualifications in this respect are so well known, the subject of our sketch obtained a thorough insight into the working of a Quebec shipping business as it should be carried on. Under such training it is not strange that he has established a character for reliability, that with him a promise is as faithfully carried out as a contract, and the spirit as well as the letter of the agreement always kept. For many years Mr. Roberts and Mr. Smith had entire charge of the Canadian supply to the English dockyards under admiralty contracts through Messrs. Chapman, of London. This was a most important business, including the annual supply of many large masts and spars of considerable value, such as are now only obtained from the Pacific coast. Mr. R. H. Smith retired at the end of last year, and Mr. H. T. Walcot, for nine years past a member of the firm of John Burstall & Co., has joined Mr. Wade in carrying on the business, under the same style, with the same staff, and upon the same lines. Shortly after his arrival in Canada, and during a political riot, Mr. Wade had a narrow escape with his life in rescuing from an infuriated mob an unfortunate man who, but for his interference, would probably have been killed. Except in such extreme cases he is an advocate of non-intervention, and of letting people manage their own affairs in their own way. The Canadian system of home rule is, in his opinion, the perfection of government. Although a firm believer in free trade, he readily admits that sometimes there are more important questions than any connected with the tariff, and believes it is essential to keep in power the best men in the country. Apart from his energy, enterprise, and thorough knowledge of that portion of the trade of which he is a worthy representative, much of Mr. Wade’s success is doubtless due to the genial and courteous manner which characterizes his intercourse with all sorts and conditions of men, and which has been the means of securing him hosts of friends and well-wishers. Mr. Wade was married in 1874 to Margaret, eldest daughter of John Simons, of Quebec, by whom he has five children.
Blanchet, Hon. Jean, Q.C., Quebec, M.P.P. for the County of Beauce, was born in February, 1843, in St. François, county of Beauce, and is a descendant of one of the oldest settlers in La Nouvelle France. He is the son of C. Blanchet, N.P., of St. François de la Beauce, and a nephew of the Right Rev. Mgrs. Blanchet, bishops of Oregon and Vancouver respectively, whom we may truly call the pioneer apostles of evangelisation in British Columbia. This country is under a heavy debt of gratitude to the reverend prelates for the detailed descriptions and quaint narratives of their early travels in that far-off part of the Dominion, and the historian of the future will find an inexhaustible supply of materials in their memoirs. The subject of our sketch was educated at the College of Nicolet, and at the termination of his classical course of studies entered Laval University to follow the law course of that institution, attending the office of Bossé and Bossé at the same time. On the 3rd of October, 1863, he was admitted to the bar of Lower Canada, and in 1876 was appointed a Queen’s counsel by the government of the province of Quebec, and re-appointed as such by the Dominion Government, on the 11th October, 1880, it having been decided by the courts of law that the appointment of Queen’s counsels was ultra vires of the provincial legislatures, and rested solely with the federal authorities. He is a member of the council of the bar, Quebec section. On his first presenting himself for parliamentary honours in his native county, at the general election of 1872, he was unsuccessful. In November, 1881, he, however, was elected by acclamation, and was sworn in as a member of the executive council on the 31st July, 1882, taking the portfolio of provincial secretary in the Mousseau administration. In 1884, he was again appointed to the same office, under the Ross administration, and accepted the same portfolio in January, 1887, under the Hon. L. O. Taillon, who resigned in the same month. He has been elected at the general election of 1886 by 187 majority. Hon. Mr. Blanchet is an honorary member of several societies. Among others, may be mentioned L’Athénée Louisianais, the Historical Society of Montreal, and the Geographical Society of Bordeaux, France; he is also president of the Asbestos Mining and Manufacturing Company of Canada, and the Artisans’ Permanent Building Society. In politics Hon. Mr. Blanchet is a Liberal-Conservative, and resides in Quebec, enjoying an extensive clientèle in Quebec, Beauce, and Montmagny. He is a member of the law firm of Blanchet, Drouin and Dionne. He married on the 5th of August, 1878, Jeanie, daughter of General S. Seymour, of Albany, late state engineer of the state of New York, by whom he has issue two children, one son and one daughter.
Phillips, Rev. Caleb Thaddeus, Minister of the Free Baptist Church, Woodstock, New Brunswick, was born at Wakefield, county of Carleton, N.B., on the 7th June, 1841. His father was Cornelius Ackerman Phillips, whose grandfather was one of the U. E. Loyalists; and his mother Frances Stevens, daughter of John Stevens and Mary Ackermann, and grand-daughter of Colonel Lawrence, a noted officer in the British army during the revolutionary war. Rev. Mr. Phillips received his education in his native parish and at Acadia College, Wolfville. He afterwards entered the ministry, and was for fourteen years in charge of the Sussex pastorate, in Kings county. Upon his resignation he was presented with a gold watch and an address from the citizens, and in 1884 took charge of the Free Baptist Church in Woodstock, N.B., of which he is the present pastor. He takes a deep interest in the temperance reform, and is a hard worker for the advancement of the Master’s kingdom on earth. He belongs to the fraternity of Freemasons, and is a member of Woodstock lodge. On the 8th October, 1870, he was married to Georgia, daughter of the Rev. Cyriac Cyrell Doucette, and has a family of four children.
Jetté, Hon. Louis A., LL.D., Montreal, Judge of the Superior Court, was born at L’Assomption, province of Quebec, on the 15th January, 1836. His father was Amable Jetté, merchant, whose ancestors came to Canada from near Tours, in France, in the sixteenth or seventeenth century. His mother, Caroline Gauffreau, was also of French descent. Her grandfather was a planter in St. Domingo when that island was under French rule, but left during some political troubles, and came to Canada. Judge Jetté, the subject of our sketch, received his literary education at L’Assomption College, and afterwards studied law (first) with Pelletier & Belanger, barristers, and afterwards with David & Ramsay, barristers. He was called to the bar in February, 1857. He practised his profession in Montreal from that date until he was appointed to the bench, on 2nd September, 1878. While at the bar Hon. Mr. Jetté greatly distinguished himself; and in the celebrated Guibord case he won an almost world-wide reputation for legal ability. In an extended review of the case, the Belgique Judiciaire, of Belgium, Europe, thus spoke of him, quoting largely from his pleading: “This speech, like all the pleadings of Mr. Jetté, has a tone remarkable for sincerity and loyalty. Mr. Jetté appears to us, moreover, to be an advocate of great merit, who must hold the front rank at every bar where he has a great cause to plead. * * * Voltaire, hearing the speech of Mr. Jetté, at Montreal, would find himself more comfortable than at the Court of Appeals at Paris, or in the Legislative Assembly at Versailles.” At one period of his life Judge Jetté was greatly interested in politics, and was a pronounced Liberal. At the general election in 1872 he contested Montreal East, and succeeded in beating the late Sir George E. Cartier, baronet, the then great statesman and leading Conservative in the province of Quebec, having polled the unprecedented majority of twelve hundred votes. This great triumph produced at the time great enthusiasm among the judge’s confrères. At the general election held in 1874, he was re-elected by acclamation; served through the session of the House of Commons at Ottawa in 1878, and in the spring of that year was offered a seat in the cabinet of the Hon. Alexander Mackenzie, who then held the reins of government. But he declined the proffered honor, having decided to retire from political life. In the summer of 1878 he visited Europe, and while in Paris he received, by telegram, the information that he had been appointed to a seat on the bench of the Superior Court of his native province, and requesting his immediate return. Since his elevation to the bench he has fully realized the most sanguine expectations of his friends, and no judge in the province is more respected than he. Amongst the important cases he has been called to decide, since his appointment to the bench, we may mention: 1st. the liberation from the lunatic asylum of Mrs. Lynam, a poor unfortunate woman who had been kept there for nearly two years, a case which, three or four years ago, attracted the attention of everyone in the Dominion, and led to an investigation by the provincial government in the management of those institutions; 2nd. the Laramée and Evans case, where he stated, in a most exhaustive judgment, the law of the province on the subject of marriage, a judgment which was deemed so important that, on motion of Hon. E. Blake, a copy of it was laid on the table of the House of Commons; 3rd. the case of Dobie and the Board of Temporalities of the Presbyterian church; 4th. the case of Lambe vs. the Insurance Companies, for the recovery of the tax imposed on those companies by the provincial government of Quebec, where he maintained the constitutionality of the provincial law, being confirmed in that view by her Majesty’s Privy Council. Judge Jetté is a corresponding member of La Société de Legislation Comparée de Paris; and is also a corresponding editor of the Revue de Droit International of Ghent, Belgium. He received the honorary degree of LL.D. from Laval University, Quebec, in 1878, and is professor of law in the Montreal branch of the same celebrated institution of learning. In 1862 he married Berthe Laflamme, daughter of the late Toussaint Laflamme, merchant, Montreal, and sister of Hon. R. Laflamme, minister of justice in the Mackenzie government.