Another important public enterprise with which he was associated at about that period was the organization and establishment of the Mercantile Library Association. Public feeling was not in sympathy with such a movement at that time and only four people were present when the system was formed. Writing of this period, a contemporary biographer has said: “The change in public feeling as to educational advantages then and now is well instanced by the fact that, besides Mr. Young, only four persons were present at the meeting when this society was commenced. In 1844 party spirit ran high and serious trouble was expected at the general election. Secret societies were in existence, and political associations formed everywhere for the purpose, as was avowed, of gaining by force what could not be secured otherwise. At such a time the post of returning officer was difficult and dangerous, and though the selection of a man to fill it might be esteemed a high compliment to his personal character, it involved also a personal risk which required the utmost coolness, determination, tact and courage in the recipient. Lord Metcalfe’s advisers selected John Young as the man for the emergency. The result soon showed that their confidence had been well placed. Mr. Young seems to have realized to the utmost the necessities and perils of the office. Fearlessly, openly and with the utmost judgment, he laid his plans so well and used the powers of his position to such effect that, contrary to all expectation, the election passed off without any breach of the peace. He seized arms and other illegal weapons wherever they could be found, and without regard to threats. When the secret societies became openly defiant he called out the troops, who were ably managed by him, and overawed the disorderly and turbulent so effectually that no rioting took place. Mr. Young’s services were so highly appreciated by Lord Metcalfe that they were mentioned in the despatches sent to the Colonial office and were the subject of special acknowledgment by the secretary of state for the colonies. They were also warmly testified to by Sir James Hope, who was then commander in chief at Montreal.”
Another important phase in Canadian life that called forth the attention and the cooperation of Mr. Young was the principle of free trade. He was one of its most stalwart champions, and upon the organization of the Free Trade Association in this city he became its president. He was a frequent contributor of articles upon the subject to the Economist and to other papers and also wrote pamphlets which had an important effect upon public thought and action. He believed that the adoption of free trade measures would constitute the most effective force in making Canada a great commercial and business center. At times in his life his ideas were ridiculed as those of a dreamer, but the years proved the soundness of his vision and men came to rely upon his opinion.
His connection with the harbor work and the improvement of the channel between Montreal and Quebec began in 1846 and later occupied much of his time and attention. He was active, too, with those who were foremost in furthering the railroad built, and he was one of the organizers of the Montreal & Portland Railway Company and also active in promoting the line from Montreal to Toronto, as president of the company having that in charge. The work was of a most difficult nature, for the promoters had to solve at least in part the great engineering problems of railroad building and not merely finance the project. It was Mr. Young who proposed the building of a bridge across the St. Lawrence. Again well known business men scoffed at the plan but the Victoria bridge stands as a monument to his public spirit and his enterprise, and has converted Montreal from a fifth rate harbor into a first class port at a distance from the seaboard without a parallel in the world. Mr. Young’s keen appreciation of the capabilities of engineering as a profession and his confidence in the application of education and trained reason to the overcoming of all natural and mechanical difficulties which always was noticeable in his intercourse with the professional men with whom his life brought him into contact, was beyond doubt one of the most effective means of securing consideration for this work and of urging on the genius of Stephenson to an achievement then supposed to be impossible. Men believed Mr. Young to be visionary when he attempted the task of sounding the river that he might point out the exact situation where the bridge should be built and which it actually occupies. It was at about the same period that he devised a plan for the Caughnawaga canal whereby to connect the St. Lawrence river and Lake Champlain and thus secure another outlet to the sea. His efforts were a notable force in making Montreal a grain shipping center and when the St. Lawrence canals were opened in 1849 he sent the first cargo of merchandise from Montreal to Chicago and brought back the first cargo of American grain. The rapid growth of shipping at this point and certain trouble that arose concerning the unloading of vessels impressed upon Mr. Young the need of a harbor police and he presented the matter so forcefully to the government that a water police force was created.
In 1851 Mr. Young by popular suffrage was made the representative of his district in parliament and in October of that year became chief commissioner of public works and a member of the board of railway commissioners in the Hincks-Tache administration. He advocated the building of a railroad from Halifax to Quebec and Montreal and thence westward. His plans were not adopted at that time and only came to fruition in 1877. In the same year he strongly urged the establishment of a fortnightly mail service between Montreal and Liverpool in the summer and between Portland and Liverpool in the winter. In 1854 he was again made the Montreal representative in parliament, where he entered earnestly upon the work of chairman of the committee on public accounts. In 1857 he declined to again stand for parliament, but it was impossible for one of his nature to retire from public life so conscientious was he regarding the duties of citizenship. In 1860 he retired from business with a handsome fortune and the same year was chosen chairman of the committee of arrangements for the most gigantic and successful series of entertainments ever held in Montreal up to that time on the occasion of the visit of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, afterward King Edward. About that time Mr. Young went to Scotland for the further education of his family, returning in 1862. In 1863 he was the nominee of the liberal party for Montreal West, but was defeated. In that year, however, he was made a commissioner to Washington to consider the reciprocity treaty.
All of these activities, although important, were less so than his life work in making Montreal a seaport and improving the navigation of the St. Lawrence. No other single project has so greatly benefited the city and this section of the country. The name of the Hon. John Young will always be connected with its successful accomplishment and he is entitled to the grateful remembrance of the citizens of Montreal for all time. He had the opportunity of furthering his projects and plans of this kind through his membership on the harbor board. As the result of his efforts Montreal ceased to be a mere landing place for boatmen and became a great shipping port. He had the greatest faith in the possibilities of the growth of Montreal and with it the progress of the Dominion and urged that this would be brought about through the development of the St. Lawrence, which he claimed to be the natural outlet for the western part of the United States as well as for the products of western Canada. As the result of his untiring labors in 1843 the government determined to deepen Lake St. Peter but very little was done until 1851. In 1854 Mr. Young entered upon active measures to promote the work and by persistent efforts the channel was deepened to sixteen feet in 1857 and still further the work was continued until the channel depth became twenty-two feet. Statistics could be cited showing how year by year the shipping was increased after the work of river and harbor improvements was begun. No other man did as much as Mr. Young in urging these great improvements of the water communications connecting Montreal with the sea. In all of his public service he looked beyond the exigencies of the moment to the possibilities and opportunities of the future, beyond the needs of his city and immediate district to the questions affecting the entire Dominion. In 1875 he served as chairman of the Baie Verte canal commission and returned a most exhaustive and valuable report. He was also the promoter of dock extension and secured the services of the most eminent engineers of Europe and America to carry forward the work.
Mr. Young’s prominence as a business man and public-spirited citizen is further indicated in the fact that he was many times elected president of the Montreal Board of Trade and was the first president of the Dominion Board of Trade. After he had long retired from parliament the members induced him to once more stand for election, and he was returned by a most flattering majority. In 1873 he would not consent to again become a candidate and on the reorganization of the harbor board he was reelected its chairman. His entire service on the board covered a quarter of a century and during fourteen years of that time he was chairman. His last public service was as commissioner for Canada to the exposition in Sydney, Australia, whereby trade relations between Canada and Australia were largely promoted as the result of the reports which he made concerning the latter country.
Time gives the perspective which places each individual in his proper relation to his age. It is a well known fact that investigation will but serve to heighten the fame of John Young, for history has proven how valuable were his efforts, how far reaching his activities, how clear his insight and how sound his judgment. Today his name is inscribed high on the roll of Montreal’s honored dead, while his memory is enshrined in the hearts of many who knew him.
JOHN GORDON.
John Gordon, founder of the wholesale dry-goods commission house of John Gordon & Son, of Montreal, was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, December 12, 1833. He was a young man of twenty years when in 1853 he came to Montreal to enter the employ of the old and well known firm of William Stephen & Company. He was afterward a member of the firm of James Roy & Company and from December, 1891, until his death, which occurred on the 12th of October, 1895, he was at the head of the wholesale house of John Gordon & Son. His advancement was continuous, and the steps in his orderly progression are easily discernible. His career was one of constantly broadening activity, and his developing powers contributed to the importance and extent of his achievements. Few men have gained higher esteem and respect, and he left to his family the rich heritage of an untarnished name, won through business integrity and kindly courtesy, constituting an example that others might profitably emulate.