Archibald, John Sprott, Q.C., D.C.L., Professor of Criminal and Constitutional Law in McGill University, Montreal, was born in the village of Musquodoboit, Halifax county, N.S., on the 8th September, 1843. His father, William G. Archibald, was a native of the same county, and his mother, Nancy Archibald, a cousin of his father, was born in Truro, Nova Scotia. Their ancestors came from Londonderry, Ireland, in 1719. John is the fourth child, in a family of five, and was educated in part in the Presbyterian Seminary, Truro. In 1864 he came to Montreal, and took the arts course in McGill University; graduated B.A. in 1867, and won the Prince of Wales’ gold medal for standing in mental and moral philosophy. He then studied law in the office of the late John A. Perkins, taking in the meanwhile the law course at McGill, graduating B.C.L. in 1870, and receiving the Elizabeth Torrance gold medal for highest general standing in his class. On the 18th of January, 1871, he was admitted to the bar, and since that time has steadily pursued the practice of his profession in Montreal, at first alone and subsequently as a member of the firm of Archibald & McCormick, until the present autumn (1887), when he dissolved his partnership, and formed a firm with the Hon. W. W. Lynch, Q.C., for many years solicitor-general of the province of Quebec, and George G. Foster, B.C.L., under the name of Archibald, Lynch & Foster. It is unnecessary to say that this new firm ranks among the leading law firms practising in Montreal. In the autumn of 1871, Mr. Archibald was appointed lecturer on criminal law in McGill University, and in 1880 he was made professor of criminal and constitutional law in the same institution, a position which he has filled with credit to himself and the college. He prepares himself with great care for his arduous duties, and is a great favourite with the students. In the spring of 1887 he received from his alma mater the degree of Doctor of Civil Law, and, almost concurrently, the distinction of Queen’s counsel from the government of Canada. In 1884 Mr. Archibald was elected alderman for St. Antoine ward, one of the largest and most influential wards in the city of Montreal, which position he still holds, having been re-elected in 1887 by acclamation. In 1885 he was appointed revising officer, under the Franchise Act, for the electoral division of Montreal West, which office he still holds. Mr. Archibald is a member of the Presbyterian church, and in politics a Conservative. On the 13th July, 1871, he was married to Ellen Hutchinson, of Bluevale, Ontario, and has a family of five children.
Haanel, Eugene Emil, F.R., Ph.D., Professor of Chemistry and Physics, Victoria College, Cobourg, Ontario, is a native of Breslau, Silesia, Europe, and was born on the 24th May, 1841. He is a son of Franz Haanel and Ann Herde. His father is a government officer, and occupies the position of secretary of the council in Breslau. The Haanels were originally from Sweden, the great grandfather of Franz Haanel having been forced to leave his native country on account of his politics. Eugene, the subject of this sketch, commenced his studies at four years of age, and graduated at the Gymnasium in his native city in 1858. Soon afterwards he left for the United States, and being in Baltimore when the civil war began between the Northern and Southern states in 1861, he joined the Northern army, and spent three years as a hospital steward, and one year as first lieutenant Co. K., Second Regiment Maryland Veteran Infantry, leaving the army at the close of the war in 1865. He then became a student at the Michigan State University, Ann Arbor, and in 1866 was appointed assistant professor of natural science at Adrian (Michigan) College. The next year he held the same position in Hillsdale College, Michigan; and in 1868 was master professor of the same department in Albion College, Michigan, and occupied the chair for four years. In 1872 Professor Haanel returned to Germany, and on the 7th of June, 1873, took the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Royal University, Breslau. He then left for Canada, to occupy the chair of chemistry and physics in Victoria College, Cobourg. His coming to Cobourg caused the erection of Faraday Hall, in 1876, a brick building, 50 by 100 feet, admirably arranged for the purpose it is intended, and equipped with apparatus selected by the professor himself in the cities of London, Paris, Bonn, Leipzig, Dresden and Berlin. While at the University of Breslau in 1873, for the purpose of graduating, Professor Haanel took for his thesis “The galvanometric method for the determination of the earth’s magnetism and its oscillations,” for which he constructed, in accordance with his original designs, “the galvanic bifilar magnetometer,” which at this day constitutes the principal instrument for observation at the magnetic observatory connected with the University of Breslau. A few years ago it occurred to him that he might remove the difficulty experienced by students in distinguishing the oxyd coating on charcoal of bismuth from the similar one of lead, by converting these coatings into iodides, and his experiments turned out very satisfactory. (See paper read by him “On the application of hydriodic acid as a blowpipe re-agent,” before the Royal Society of Canada, May 25, 1883.) The method adopted then was to touch the coatings with a drop of strong hydriodic acid, and direct the blowpipe flame upon the charcoal just in front of the moistened spot. The heat of the blowpipe flame volatilized the respective iodides, which were deposited again upon the cooler parts of the charcoal, at a greater distance from the assay. The iodide of lead gave a magnificent canary-yellow coating, the bismuth a chocolate brown; cadmium and antimony, when treated in a similar manner, a white and brick-red coating respectively. In the extension of this method to other substances he found that other iodides of very characteristic colours were formed. Many of these were, however, altogether too volatile to be deposited satisfactorily on the charcoal, charcoal being too poor a conductor of heat to lower the temperature of the vapours of the iodides in question sufficiently to permit of their condensation and consequent deposition as coatings. In order to utilise to the fullest extent the value of hydriodic acid as a blowpipe re-agent, it became necessary to adopt a support which, on account of its better conductivity, would condense the various volatile iodides on its surface as coatings. The choice of the kind of support best suited was farther restricted by the following characteristics which a support, to prove entirely practical and satisfactory, should possess. 1. It must be cheap and easily made; 2. The surface of the support must be smooth and white, to bring out the colours of the coatings, uninfluenced by peculiarities of surface or admixture of tint of the support; 3. It must resist the heat of the blowpipe flame; 4. It must be of sufficiently porous texture to absorb the hydriodic acid, and supply it to the assay gradually and constantly during the progress of the operation. After some reflection and experimentation, he finally adopted plaster of Paris casts in the form of narrow thin tablets as the support, and found that it possessed the above-mentioned characteristics in an eminent degree. Though a German, Professor Haanel speaks the English language with eloquence and fluency; he is clear and concise as well as accurate in his enunciation; an attractive lecturer, a successful experimenter, and a laborious and untiring enthusiast at his work. He was married on the 5th of November, 1866, to Julia F. Darling, of Lake Ridge, Michigan, United States, a graduate of Albion College, and they have a family of five children.
Kelly, Thomas Eugene, Joliette, Province of Quebec, was born at Joliette, in 1861. He is a son of Francis Kelly and Mary Collins, his wife. The subject of this sketch was educated at Bryant & Stratton’s Business College, at Montreal, taking the commercial course. He afterwards travelled extensively through the Western States. He is a Roman Catholic in religion, and is unmarried. He is engaged in the manufacturing and wholesale lumber business, being a member of the firm of Kelly Bros., Joliette, Quebec.
Weir, W., Banker, Montreal.—There are few better known faces on the streets of Montreal than that of the above named gentleman, head of the banking firm of W. Weir & Sons, and president of the Banque Ville Marie. Mr. Weir was born at Greenden, near Brechin, Scotland, on the 28th October, 1823, and came to Canada in 1842, Like a good many successful Canadians, he began life as a teacher, having taken charge of a public school before he was twenty years of age. After two years engaged in this honorable but ill remunerated occupation, during which time he devoted himself to the study of the French language, and having further improved his knowledge of that language by a short course at St. Thérèse College, Mr. Weir accepted a bookkeeper’s situation in Montreal, commencing business on his own account in 1849. In 1856 he removed to Toronto, where he remained till 1859, when he returned to Montreal. During his stay in Toronto he published and edited the Canadian Merchants’ Magazine, a monthly periodical, the vigorous style of its editorials soon bringing their author into notice. In 1858 he took the prize of the Upper Canadian Board of Arts for the best essay on the manufactures of Canada, and contributed many articles to the local press on financial and commercial subjects. Among the early promoters of what has since become known as the National Policy, Mr. Weir was a leading spirit. At his suggestion, and largely through his exertions, the great convention of manufacturers was convened at Toronto in 1858. At this convention Mr. Weir was the secretary, and he held the same position in the “Association for the promotion of Canadian Industry” then formed. This society embraced among its members many prominent members of Parliament, and its exertions and influence secured the changes in the tariff of 1858 which gave the first great impulse to Canada’s manufacturing industries. To the present generation, Mr. Weir is best remembered for his successful efforts to effect the removal of the “silver nuisance.” The suspension of specie payments in the United States, in 1862, caused a large influx into Canada of American silver coin, which, passing current in retail transactions and in payment of wages, but not being bankable, caused great loss and inconvenience to the public, who had daily to carry nearly all their receipts to the brokers’ offices, to be sold at a discount for bankable funds. For several years Mr. Weir urged upon the Government the importance of removing the evil, and at his suggestion one million dollars was exported at the public expense, he himself exporting a similar amount by contract with the leading commercial houses. In 1869, he attempted to export two millions more, but the attempt fell through owing to inadequate support. Early in 1870 (the late Hon. Sir Francis Hincks having become finance minister), Mr. Weir succeeded in obtaining the aid of the Government to remove the whole depreciated coin from circulation. He contracted with the Government to effect its removal, and carried through that great work with complete success. Five million dollars were exported between March and July, 1870, at a cost to the Dominion exchequer of $118,000, the Government being recouped by assuming the one and two dollar note circulation, a measure suggested by Mr. Weir to meet the objection on the score of expense. Seventy banks and bank agencies assisted in the work, the shipments being made from every place of importance between Quebec and Sarnia. The coin was purchased at five, five and half, and six per cent discount, for half and quarter dollar pieces, the smaller coins, to extent of $500,000, being exported by Mr. Weir at his own expense, making the total amount exported by him over seven million dollars, or over two hundred waggon loads. Since 1870, Mr. Weir has taken an active part in discussing the leading financial questions of the hour. He assisted in reorganizing the Jacques Cartier Bank, of which he was vice-president when offered the presidency of the Banque Ville Marie, a position he has held for the last six years, during which period the bank has trebled its business and strengthened its position. To the people of Cote St. Antoine and west end of Montreal, he is best known for his services and public spirit in securing the opening up of Western Avenue, destined to be the great western entrance into the city. Mr. Weir married, in 1849, a daughter of the late John Somerville, of Chatham, P.Q., and has five sons living, and one son and one daughter deceased. Three sons are in business; the two youngest are graduates of McGill University, Arthur the youngest being already well known as a talented writer both in prose and verse.
Madill, Frank, M.A., M.P. for North Ontario, Barrister, etc., Beaverton, Ontario, was born in the township of Scott, in the county of Ontario, province of Ontario, November 23rd, 1852. He is youngest son of Henry and Eliza Madill, who came to Canada from Monaghan, Ireland, in 1837, and eventually settled in the township of Scott. Henry Madill is one of the old pioneers, and was for many years a prominent member of the council of that municipality, until his removal to the village of Vroomanton, in same county, a few years ago, where he and his good lady still reside, amidst a large circle of children, grandchildren and friends, universally respected. The subject of this sketch was educated at Uxbridge and Whitby high schools, and the University of Toronto, where he graduated B.A., in 1873, and M.A. in 1876; studied law in the office of the late Hon. John Hilliard Cameron, Q.C., M.P., and was called to the bar of Ontario, Michaelmas Term, 1877, and still practises his profession at Beaverton. During his university course he was one of the university athletes, and held the championship of the university. He was also a prominent member of the university football team,—the champions of the Dominion for four years. He was lieutenant of No. 4 company, 34th battalion, V.M.I., and is now paymaster of the same battalion, with rank of captain. He was first returned to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, 4th June, 1881, and sat until the general election, 1883, at which he was defeated by twenty votes. At the last general election for the House of Commons he was elected for the same riding by a majority of 158, over A. P. Cockburn, ex-M.P. He is a Liberal-Conservative, and Supporter of the government of Right Hon. Sir John A. Macdonald. He was a member of the Grand Lodge of Royal Black Knights, and was at one time D.M. of King Solomon Preceptory, 292, at Toronto. He is a member of the executive committee of the Liberal-Conservative Union of Ontario; is a Freemason, and is an ex-warden of Murray lodge, Beaverton. He has taken an active part in all political contests in the Midland District, but has never taken any active part in municipal matters. He is commodore of the Beaverton Yacht Club, vice-president of the Beaverton Gun Club, and president of the Chicker Lacrosse Club. His travels have been confined to the United States and Canada. He has always belonged to the Presbyterian church of Canada, in connection with the Church of Scotland, known as the “old Kirk,” of which his father is an elder. He was married on the 5th day of May, 1886, to Florrie, eldest daughter of Charles T. Young, of Beaverton, one of the village fathers.