Part 29

The soul of the Bishop of St. Boniface, though sorely tried by the above disasters, as well as by the distress of seeing his flock looking to him for assistance, was not cast down. He lost no time in taking the necessary steps to repair the calamities which had occurred. He went to Canada and to France to raise funds, and success crowned his efforts. Mr. Joseph James Hargrave, in his work on "Red River," alluding to the burning of the cathedral and episcopal residence, says:--"This check has, however, through the ability of the bishop, been turned almost into a benefit, for a much superior church has been raised on the site of the old one, and the handsome and commodious stone dwelling-house which has replaced the other is, in more than mere name, a palace."

In 1868 all the crops in the Red River settlement were destroyed by innumerable swarms of grasshoppers. The same year the buffalo chase, one of the principal resources of the country at the time, was a complete failure. Famine was the result. The most energetic efforts were made to mitigate the distress, and timely aid from abroad prevented, in many cases, death from starvation. A Relief Committee was appointed, and among the members were the clergymen of the different religious denominations, to whom it belonged to see to the wants of their respective congregations. While it is true that all these gentlemen acted their part well, it is but fair to add that Bishop Taché was the most active; ever devising new means, at his own expense, to preserve his people from starvation, and securing seed for the ensuing spring when the resources of the committee were insufficient.

Famine is often a forerunner of political disturbance in a country. During the spring of 1869 a universal feeling of dissatisfaction and of uneasiness prevailed in the colony, when it became known, through the public press, that transactions were being carried on between Her Majesty's Government, that of the Dominion, and the Hudson's Bay Company, for the transfer of the Red River country to Canada, while the authorities of Assiniboia and the population of the colony were entirely ignored by the negotiating parties. This wounded the susceptibilities of the inhabitants, among whom a spirit of sullenness and disaffection began to appear. The surveyors sent from Canada to lay out the land were not allowed to prosecute their work, and when the newspapers of Ontario and Quebec brought intelligence to Fort Garry that a Commission under the Great Seal of Canada had been issued on the 29th of September, 1869, appointing the Hon. William McDougall to be Lieutenant-Governor of the North-West Territories, and that the Honourable gentleman was _en route_ with a party, and taking with him three hundred and fifty breech-loading rifles with thirty thousand rounds of ammunition, the dissatisfaction became exasperation. The French Half-Breeds took up arms and sent a party to the frontier to meet Mr. McDougall and order him back. Such was the beginning of the outbreak.

Bishop Taché was at this time absent in Europe, attending the sitting of the [OE]cumenical Council at Rome. When the troubles in the North-West became known to the Canadian Government at Ottawa, it was thought desirable to secure His Lordship's services. His influence over the French Half-Breeds was known to be all-powerful, and he was regarded as the one man for the crisis. He was communicated with by cablegram, and, recognizing the urgency of the case, he at once set out for Canada. Upon reaching Ottawa he had a conference with the Government, and received instructions authorizing him to proceed at once to the North-West, and to offer the rebels an amnesty for all past offences. He lost no time in repairing to Fort Garry, but five days before his arrival there the murder of Thomas Scott--"the dark crime of the rebellion"--had been committed. Bishop Taché, while deploring that ruthless piece of butchery, did not conceive that his instructions were affected thereby. He recognized the Provisional Government, entered into negotiations with Riel, and was instrumental in restoring peace. He unconsciously exceeded his powers, and made promises to the rebels in the name of the Canadian Government which, in the absence of express Imperial authority, the Canadian Government itself had no power to make. All this, however, was done from the best of motives, for the purpose of preventing further bloodshed, and without any idea that he was exceeding the authority with which he had been invested. A great deal has been said and written against Bishop Taché in connection with this troublesome episode in the history of Red River. The Archbishop has informed the author of this sketch that his intention is to personally prepare a full account of what he knows respecting that episode. Meanwhile, suffice it to say to those who would know the part played by him, that His Grace has already published two pamphlets on the subject, the first in 1874, and the second in 1875. The latter portrays the painful feeling experienced by His Grace at the way he was treated by the authorities after he had succeeded in appeasing the dissatisfied people, and in bringing them to enter into negotiations, the results of which were satisfactory to the Government of Canada, as well as to the old settlers of Assiniboia. It is impossible, in reading those pages, not to be convinced that the prelate acted with the utmost good faith, and with the interests of the country at heart. "The Amnesty Again, or Charges Refuted," clearly demonstrates how deeply the author felt that he had been unjustly treated. Few men, if any, in Canada, occupying such a high position, have been attacked so unfairly as Bishop Taché. There is not a man of sense acquainted with His Lordship and with the country in which he has laboured so indefatigably during the last thirty-five years that would venture to repeat the accusations brought against him at the time in reference to the Red River disturbances. Some of those who had accused him experienced a complete transformation in their ideas on forming His Lordship's acquaintance, and could not help sharing in the universal respect which surrounds him.

On the 22nd of September, 1871, Bishop Taché was appointed Archbishop and Metropolitan of a new ecclesiastical province--that of St. Boniface, which comprehends the Archdiocese of St. Boniface, the Diocese of St. Albert, and the Vicariates Apostolic of Athabaska-Mackenzie and British Columbia. As already stated, Archbishop Taché's health began to fail during his harassing journey in the winter of 1860. The calamities above mentioned, the losses to be repaired requiring unceasing toil, and, above all, it may be said, the mental suffering of the three previous years, hastened the progress of the disease which seized Archbishop Taché in December, 1872, and kept him bedridden during the whole winter. The malady has since partially subsided, but His Grace still suffers constantly, more or less, and his strength is by no means equal to what his appearance would indicate.

In 1875 Archbishop Taché received a remarkable token of the sympathy he commands in the Province of Quebec. On the 24th of June, the thirtieth anniversary of his departure from Montreal, and the twenty-fifth of his election to the episcopate, His Grace was made the recipient of a very uncommon and valuable gift, that of a splendid organ for his cathedral. The instrument, which cost about $3,000, was built in Montreal by Mr. Mitchell, who accompanied it to St. Boniface, at the expense of the donors, to place it in the loft prepared for it there, "to raise its rich and melodious tones, as the expression of the feelings of the numerous friends and admirers of a holy missionary, a devoted bishop, and a noble citizen."

In 1877 Lord Dufferin visited the Province of Manitoba. Many looked forward with a certain anxiety to see the attitude the Archbishop of St. Boniface would take towards or receive from the Governor-General. That feeling was caused by the recollection of what Lord Dufferin had written to England with regard to Bishop Taché, and of how His Grace had repudiated His Excellency's assertions in the pamphlet alluded to above. Those better acquainted with His Grace knew quite well that every other feeling would be silenced in order to give vent only to that of profound respect towards the representative of Her Majesty, and for them it was no matter of surprise to see His Grace, contrary to his practice, appear daily in public, when an opportunity afforded itself, to testify his respect for the illustrious visitor. This, of course, was felt by Lord Dufferin, who shortly after wrote to a friend: "I left Bishop Taché very well and in good spirits. Nothing could have been kinder than the reception he gave me." It may even be said that Lord Dufferin seemed eager to express his esteem for the venerable prelate. The second day after His Excellency's arrival he was at the Archiepiscopal Palace of St. Boniface, and answered as follows to an address from the Archbishop and Catholic clergy of the locality:--

"MONSEIGNEUR et MESSIEURS,--I need not assure you that it is with great satisfaction that I at length find myself within the jurisdiction of Your Grace, and in the neighbourhood of those localities where you and your clergy have for so many years been prosecuting your sacred duties. Your Grace, I am sure, is well aware how thoroughly I understand and appreciate the degree to which the Catholic Priesthood of Canada have contributed to the progress of civilization, from the earliest days till the present moment, through the length and breadth of Her Majesty's Dominion, and perhaps there is no region where their efforts in this direction are more evident or more strikingly expressed upon the face of the country than here in Manitoba. On many a previous occasion it has been my pleasing duty to bear witness to the unvarying loyalty and devotion to the cause of good government and order of yourself and your brethren, and the kindly feeling and patriotic harmony which I find prevailing in this Province bear unmistakable witness to the spirit of charity and sympathy towards all classes of your fellow-citizens by which Your Lordship and your clergy are animated. To myself individually it is a great satisfaction to visit the scene of the labours of a great personage for whom I entertain such a sincere friendship and esteem as I do for Your Grace, and to contemplate with my own eyes the beneficial effects produced by your lifelong labours and unwearying self-sacrifice and devotion to the interests of your flock. I trust that both they and this whole region may by the providence of God be long permitted to profit by your benevolent ministrations. Permit me to assure Your Grace and the clergy of your diocese that both Lady Dufferin and myself are deeply grateful for the kind and hearty welcome you have prepared for us." These words, falling from the lips of the immediate representative of Her Majesty, during an official visit, should go some distance towards compensating Archbishop Taché for all the unfair accusations brought against him, and they were a source of heartfelt pleasure to the large audience surrounding the Governor-General on that occasion. During the same year an American writer who visited Manitoba, and published a pamphlet on the country, was taken by the well-known merits and pleasant intercourse of Monseigneur Taché, of whom he says:--"Of Bishop Taché, the Archbishop of this great domain, who resides at this mission (St. Boniface), much, very much, might be said. His travels, labours and ministry have been extensive and acceptable. Still a few words of the Psalmist will better express him as he is than any words of mine. 'The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord; and he delighteth in his way. Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of that man is peace.' And so it seems to be with him, in the peaceful air of this Mission, which, with his kindly, genial way, seems to make the above-quoted words particularly appropriate, and to cause one to sincerely wish that 'his days may be long in the land, which the Lord his God hath given him.'"

In 1879 the friends of the Archbishop dreaded that the wishes expressed in the last quotation would not be realized. All through the month of April in that year His Grace was far from well, and on the 2nd of May, while assisting at a literary entertainment held at the college in honour of his festal day, he was seized with a severe attack of the chronic disease from which he suffers. For a whole week much anxiety prevailed relative to his recovery. Happily he got over the attack, and three months of rest passed in the Province of Quebec restored His Grace to his usual condition of health. The Archbishop had proposed crossing the Atlantic for his decennial visit to Rome, and also to attend the General Chapter of the Oblate Order. Sickness did not permit His Grace to make the intended voyage, which would have been the sixth one made by him to Europe. Archbishop Taché often complains of having lost most of his energy and activity; nevertheless it is easy to see that he is not idle concerning the interests of his flock. Last year witnessed the erection of a splendid college in St. Boniface, a spacious and beautiful convent in Winnipeg, the new and grand church of St. Mary in the same city, besides the chapels of Emerson, St. Pie, St. Pierre, and many other improvements in different localities; and when we know the active part Archbishop Taché has taken in all these improvements, and the considerable assistance afforded by him, it must be admitted that his force is not exhausted. His zeal, energy and activity may be measured to a certain degree by the following synopsis of what has been accomplished since his arrival in the country. When Father Taché was ordained Priest at St. Boniface, in 1845, he was only the sixth Roman Catholic clergyman in the British Possessions from Lake Superior to the Rocky mountains--that is to say in the whole diocese of St. Boniface. There were but two parishes and one mission established in the colony of Assiniboia, viz.: St. Boniface, St. François Xavier, and St. Paul; and two missions in the North-West Territories. At present there are in the same country an Archdiocese, a Diocese and a Vicariate Apostolic, Archbishop, three Bishops, twenty Secular Priests, sixty-two Oblate Fathers, thirty Oblate Lay Brothers, three Brothers of the Congregation of Mary, sixty-five Sisters of Charity, and eleven Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. There are eighteen parishes in Manitoba, and more than forty established missions in the North-West Territories.

The above figures will convey some idea of the progress made by the Roman Catholic religion in the North-West during the last thirty-five years, and as Archbishop Taché has presided over its affairs for nearly thirty years as Bishop or Archbishop it is impossible to doubt that he has displayed a great deal of energy, activity and ability, as well as much Christian kindness and sympathy.

[Illustration: JAMES COX AIKINS, signed as J. C. AIKINS]

THE HON. JAMES COX AIKINS.

The life of the Minister of Inland Revenue has been rather uneventful. His father, the late Mr. James Aikins, emigrated from the county of Monaghan, Ireland, to Philadelphia, in 1816. After a residence of four years in the Quaker City he removed to Upper Canada, and took up a quantity of land in the first concession north of the Dundas Road, in the township of Toronto, about thirteen miles from the town of York. This was sixty years ago, when that township, like nearly every other township in the Province, was sparsely settled. There was no church or place of worship in the neighbourhood, and the itinerant Methodist preachers were for some years the only exponents of the Gospel that were seen there. Mr. Aikins, like most Protestants in the north of Ireland, had been bred to the Presbyterian faith, but soon after settling in Upper Canada he came under the influence of these evangelists, and embraced the doctrines of Methodism. His house became a well-known place of resort for the godly people of the settlement, and services were frequently held there.

The subject of this sketch is the eldest son of the gentleman above named, and was born at the family homestead, in the township of Toronto, on the 30th of March, 1823. He was brought up on his father's farm, and was early inured to the hardships of rural life in Canada in those primitive times. He united with the Methodist Body at an early age, and has ever since been identified with it. He attended the public schools in the neighbourhood of his home, and afterwards spent some time at the Upper Canada Academy at Cobourg, which subsequently developed into Victoria College and University. At the first collegiate examination, which was held on the 17th of April, 1843, he figured as one of the "Merit Students." After completing his education he settled down on a farm in the county of Peel, a few miles from the paternal homestead, and there remained until about eleven years ago, when he removed to Toronto, where he has ever since resided. In 1845, soon after leaving college, he married Miss Mary Elizabeth Jane Somerset, the daughter of a neighbouring yeoman in Peel. He embraced the Reform side in politics, and was for many years identified with the Reform Party. His life was unmarked by any incident of public interest until 1851, when he was nominated as the representative of his native constituency in the Assembly. Not feeling prepared for public life at this period he declined the nomination; but at the general elections held in 1854 he offered himself as a candidate on the Reform side in opposition to the sitting member, Mr. George Wright, of Brampton. His candidature was successful, and he was elected to the Assembly. Upon taking his seat he recorded his first vote against the Hincks-Morin Administration, and thus participated in bringing about the downfall of that Ministry. He took no conspicuous part in the debates of the House, but for some years continued to act steadily with the Party to which he had allied himself. He voted for the secularization of the Clergy Reserves, and his voice was occasionally heard in support of measures relating to public improvements. He continued to sit for Peel until the general election of 1861, when, owing to his action on the County Town question, which excited keen sectional opposition, he was defeated by the late Hon. John Hillyard Cameron. The following year he was elected a member of the Legislative Council for the "Home" Division, comprising the counties of Peel and Halton. His majority in the county of Peel alone, where he had sustained defeat only a few months before, was over 300. He continued to sit in the Council so long as that Body had an existence. When it was swept away by Confederation he was called to the Senate of the Dominion, of which he still continues to be a member. His political views, it is to be presumed, had meanwhile undergone some modification, as he accepted office, on the 9th of December, 1867, as Secretary of State in the Government of Sir John Macdonald, and has ever since been a follower of that statesman. During his tenure of office the Dominion Lands Bureau was established, for the purpose of managing the lands acquired in the North West, chiefly from the Hudson's Bay Company. The scope of the Bureau has since been extended, and it has become an independent Department of State under the control of the Minister of the Interior. The Public Lands Act of 1872 is another measure which dates from Mr. Aikins's term of office, the measure itself having been in great part prepared by Colonel John Stoughton Dennis, Surveyor-General. The disclosures with reference to the sale of the Pacific Railway Charter resulted, in November, 1873, in the overthrow of the Government. Mr. Aikins participated in its downfall, and resigned office with his colleagues. Upon Sir John Macdonald's return to power in October, 1878, Mr. Aikins again accepted office as Secretary of State, and retained that position until the month of November, 1880, when there was a readjustment of portfolios, and he became Minister of Inland Revenue, which office he now holds. Though he is not an effective speaker, and makes no pretence to being either brilliant or showy, he has a cool judgment, and has administered the affairs of his several departments with efficiency. He is attentive to his duties, is shrewd in selecting his counsellors and assistants, and has considerable aptitude for dealing with matters of detail. These qualities, rather than any profound statesmanship, have placed him in his present high position.

During his residence in the township of Toronto Mr. Aikins held various municipal offices, and is still Major of the Third Battalion of the Peel Militia. He is President of the Manitoba and North West Loan Company, and Vice-President of the National Investment Company. He likewise holds important positions of trust in connection with the Methodist Church.

THE HON. FELIX GEOFFRION, N.P., P.C.