At this time an arrangement was entered into by these four national societies for a general procession on each national festival day. At the anniversary meeting of November 30th, held in the morning, the Earl of Selkirk was, at his own request, proposed and elected a life member. The society, followed by the other national societies, then marched to St. Gabriel’s Church, where the sermon was preached by the Reverend Mr. Esson. In the evening the banquet took place at Rasco’s Hotel, when 150 members and guests dined together. The annual dinner and the public procession of November 30, 1837, were omitted, this being the year of the civil rebellion of which the first act took place on November 6th, in the collision of “Fils de la Liberté” and the British residents of Montreal. The members of St. Andrew’s Society being all Loyalists, were immediately put under arms and performed military duty. At the magistrates’ request that the usual procession should be omitted in the disturbed portion of the country and in the excited state of the public mind, this was done, but it was hoped to hold the annual dinner. This was also found impossible, since on account of the regular military being withdrawn from the city, most of the members were on guard. About thirty, however, made arrangements for supper, at Orr’s Hotel, which took place.
Although another rebellion broke out on November 3, 1838, much less danger was anticipated, so the anniversary festival was observed, both with a procession and the annual dinner, but after the commencement of the rebellion of 1837 the custom of the national association of joining in each other’s anniversary processions was discontinued.
At the quarterly meeting of February, 1839, the Right Reverend Mr. McDonnell, Roman Catholic bishop of Kingston, was elected an honorary member.
In 1841, the first opportunity was offered of assisting destitute Scotchmen, outside the city. In September an application from Mr. Morris, president of the emigrant association of the district of St. Francis, applied for pecuniary aid for a body of 229 utterly destitute immigrants recently arrived from the island of Lewis (Scotland). A collection of £234 14s. 6d. was accordingly forwarded. The following year relief was granted to the Rev. John Taylor of Lachine to assist the Scotch immigrants who survived the very sad accident on Lake St. Louis when a small high pressure steamer, called the “Shamrock,” having burst her boiler shortly after leaving Lachine, sank almost immediately on account of the force of the steam which blew the bow completely out of the boat. Another opportunity for developing their charitable work was afforded in 1846 when, owing to the severity of this winter, a special collection was taken up to relieve the necessities of the poor. The Society identified itself with public movements thus:
On the 8th of August it took part on the Champ de Mars in the celebration of the opening of the Atlantic Railway, and in 1847 the Society joined the other national societies in a procession in honour of the entry of the Earl of Elgin into Montreal as governor-general on the 29th of January.
The relations of St. Andrew’s with others of diverse national origin have always been cordial.
On the 11th of February resolutions were passed to open a subscription for the destitute inhabitants of the Highlands of Scotland, while another read “that this meeting deeply sympathizes with the distress caused by famine in Ireland as well as that affecting their own native land, and are ready to admit that next to the claims of their own countrymen the poor of Ireland have the greatest right to consideration, yet in the belief that more money will be raised by two separate committees than by a united one, as proposed, they recommend that this junction be not entered into.”
At the annual banquet held at Donegana’s Hotel, among the guests were the Hon. A.N. Morin, president of St. Jean Baptiste’s Association, His Worship, the Mayor, the Hon. Messrs. Molson and Badgeley, both past presidents of St. George’s Society, thus showing that the racial hatchet was being buried.
The following record throws an interesting sidelight on the political state of the country and the keen interest which public events evoked: In 1849, at a special meeting held April 28th, three days after the signing of the Rebellion Losses bill by Lord Elgin, under the presidency of Mr. Hugh Allan with seventy-one members present, Mr. Andrew McGill moved the following resolution which, having been seconded by Mr. Robert Esdaile, was put to the meeting from the chair and unanimously adopted:
“Resolved, That the Earl of Elgin, having so conducted himself as to insult and outrage the feelings of every British subject in Canada, and to disgrace the Scottish name, this society with the deepest regret considers him unworthy to continue longer its patron and that he be, therefore, from henceforth, removed from that office.”