William H. Atherton

“ Sloping roadways down to the water where the river was so low as to permit of rocks showing above the current, a long stretch of beach where the children of those days romped and played, and the poorer women washed the linen using the big stones as washing boards, a long unbroken line of trees and shrubberies past Maisonneuve, where now the Harbour Commissioners’ powerful locomotives transport merchandise from vessels of 15,000 tons register to the various railway terminals, these were the features of the Port of Montreal long before Confederation had ever been dreamed of. ”

“ THE COLONISTS' MEMORIAL
The scene is one of life and colour. The rich hues of the vestments of the priests, the shining white linen of the altar, the gleaming sacred ornaments, the picturesque costumes of Montmagny and de Maisonneuve, the ladies and gentlemen around them, the varied dresses of the artisans and the arquebusiers, whose weapons glint in the sun, fill in a picture worthy of the mountain background, such as should inspire any artist's brush.
And now the action of the Sacrifice was suspended and Father Vimont broke the sice and earnestly spoke to the worshippers. ”

“ 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. ”

“ I shall have defended the colony; I shall have owed 10,000 écus; but I shall see men enriching themselves like a Ralig, a Coban, a Cécile, a set of men without faith, rascals interested in the provision enterprise, gaining in one year four or five hundred thousand livres, arising from their outrageous expenditures; a Maurin, a clerk at 100 crowns, an abortion by nature, a snail in figure, traveling with a suite of calèches and carriages, spending more in conveyances, harness and in horses than a young coxcomb and giddy-headed farmer-general of revenues. ”

“ And then today when I went westward and saw what was being done there in the way of expansion in the building up of the environs of the city, in the multiplicity of machine and car shops, along the Lachine canal, I said to myself that such growth surpassed that of London or Paris proportionately to population.
“Why, you will have a million, not in a decade, but in a lustrum. You don’t see all this growth as a stranger sees it. I am not a stranger, of course; but I have been absent. I tell you I am amazed at what I see, and proud of old Montreal.” ”

“ The Montreal Daily Star editorially said of him: “Canadian public life has produced few men who would be more sincerely mourned by an army of personal friends than will the late Raymond Préfontaine. He was a man who was always bigger than his party, bigger than his numerous victories and broader in his sympathies than many a man who made more display of public spirit. A genuine liking for the big, generous man pervaded all classes of the community and was no small share of his strength in any political contest. ”

“ We dislike to have our sympathies checked by reminders, that in Canada as elsewhere, they were the consistent, formidable foes of liberty; that their love of power not only embroiled them continually with the civil authorities, but made them jealous of the Recollects and Sulpicians, unwilling that any save their own order—or, as we say, sect—should share in the dangers and glory of converting the infidels of New France. How can we, sitting at home in ease, we who have entered into their labours, criticize men before whose spiritual white heat every mountain melted away ”

“ The end came to Colonel Whitehead September 7, 1912. He seemed almost to the last in the prime of life, his fine figure being erect and soldierly, and the years rested lightly upon him. His eye could still sweep down the long lines of the regiment, his step was elastic and he was enjoying life in all the mental riches that follow a career of activity and usefulness. The Victoria Rifles felt great pride in his brilliant record and in that regiment he was an outstanding figure, a symbol of duty well done, while his memory will ever be to them an inspiration for loyalty in the King’s service. ”

“ The English represent the genius of commerce, the art of making a fortune, the distinctive characteristics of the Anglo-Saxon race. We, on this continent, represent some of the virtues which have distinguished the French race from all time, generosity, the love of belles lettres and of good taste and Gallic gaiety and enthusiasm which are the heritage of France and have been the inspiring cause of so many noble actions inscribed in the annals of history. ”

“ The prophetic words of the father superior of the Jesuits in 1647 stir the heart of the Christian—by whatsoever name known among men—like the blasts of a trumpet: 'We shall die; we shall be captured, burned, butchered. Be it so. Those who die in their beds do not always die the best death. I see none of our Company cast down.' And truly, in spite of failures, these men did a great work. ”

“ The city is now undergoing a reconstruction and remodeling that is confusing even to its middle aged citizens, who were born in the old humdrum city. Landmarks are disappearing; the buildings in the older part of the city and even parts of the new are being replaced with wondrous celerity, baffling the mind of one not a statistician. It is the age of the house-wrecker and steam-rivetter. Montreal is being modernized—becoming a second New York—but in spite of all, manages to preserve its unique, psychological and historical characteristics. ”

“ Ouimet is a successful lawyer in the truest sense of the word, a man unusually broad-minded and intelligent, tolerant and of wide experience, never mercenary or grasping, believing in something greater than mere material wealth, who in the course of a distinguished career, spent simply and unostentatiously, has been a factor for good along various lines. His public-spirited citizenship has been a boon to Montreal, who proudly claims him as one of her citizens, and Mr. Ouimet returns the honor which the city’s people entertain for him by a loyalty which could not be more devoted. ”

“ Certainly it will be seen that Montreal is great and will be greater still, because great thoughts, high ideals, strenuous purposes have been born and fostered within its walls.
The thinking student will witness the law of cause and effect, of action, and reaction, ever at work, and will read design where the undisciplined mind would only see chaos and blind forces at work.
Recognizing that the city is a living organism with a personality of its own, he will watch with ever increasing interest the life emerging from the seed and at work in all the varying stages of its growth and development. ”

“ Angus ably administers the affairs of a vast industrial enterprise, and his career bids fair to rival that of his distinguished father. He is deeply interested in all that pertains to progress and trade expansion and can always be found among those men who are the most forceful exponents of advanced measures inaugurated to exploit the vast resources of the Dominion. He bends his genius to create new markets and increase trade facilities and gives of the best of his ability so that the Dominion of Canada may march in the van of the great industrial nations of the world. ”

“ In this year political discussion, a subject in the early days tabooed, appears in the Gazette. A correspondent discussing the burning question of a House of Assembly sums up thus:
“We are all Canadians and subjects of Great Britain. The distinction of old and new subjects ought to have been done away with long since. The prosperity of this country must depend on the unanimity that prevails amongst us. I am of the opinion that much good may be derived from a House of Assembly. Yet I fear the consequent evils, one of which is taxing a country unable to support the dignity of a House. ”

“ He said: 'I will never abandon this fort while Mademoiselle Madeleine is here.' I answered him that I would never abandon it; that I would rather die than give it up to the enemy; and that it was of the greatest importance that they (the Iroquois) should never get possession of any French fort, because if they got one, they would think that they could get others and would grow more bold and presumptuous than ever. I may say with truth that I did not eat or sleep for twice twenty-four hours, but kept always on the bastion, or went to the blockhouse to see how the people there were behaving. ”

“ By the death of Senator Forget a man of affairs has been lost to Canada. A man of wide vision who saw far into the future and who modeled his career accordingly. A glance through the financial district at the half-masted flags at once conveys an idea of the number and the prominence of the institutions that Senator Forget had been interested in. Senator Forget stood out in Canadian finance, but more than that, he was a true Canadian citizen and had done his share towards the public weal, forgetting not his duty towards the state in the midst of tremendous private enterprises. ”

“ Montreal should be made known not only as a gateway for export and import transportation, but also as the busy center of headquarters of numerous and constantly growing industries of its own. It is a distributing source of cheap power, light and heat. All that goes towards the making of a great and successful commercial metropolis has been planned by the merchants of modern Montreal, whose predecessors began humbly [544] in 1822, and ever conscious of the future destiny of their city, were always led by visions of its future greatness as the commercial metropolis of Canada. ”

“ In this "History of Montreal" we shall picture the busy world as we see it round us. Here are heroic and saintly deeds being done today in our midst. The foundations of new and mighty works even surpassing those of the past are being laid in the regions of religion, philanthropy, art, science, commerce, engineering, government and city planning this very hour, and their builders are unconsciously building unto fame. ”

“ The history of a country is no longer an account of wars and conquests, but is a record of notable business activity, of intellectual, aesthetic and moral progress and political management and control. While never active in the field of politics, Joseph Bowles Learmont was not only highly successful where his tastes led, but was as well one of the foremost merchants of the city, and well known in the business community of Montreal. ”

“ And in this central room a busy committee was engaged all day on the careful systematic organization of the relief fund. Over the city in church, school, club and private rooms, groups were busily knitting and sewing and fashioning all sorts of comforts and necessities for those who had heard the call to fight for the maintenance of the Empire. The city has become a busy loom of patriotic charity.
All honour to the loyal women of Montreal in this moment of the world’s greatest war. ”

“ He was very fond of his family and found his chief delight in the home circle, being a loving and kind husband and father. As a business man he was alert and energetic, ready for any emergency and he seemed to pass by no opportunity that pointed to honorable success. Contemporaries and colleagues had the highest respect for him and more than that, he gained the warm friendship and esteem of a large majority of his acquaintances. Although a later arrival in Montreal than many of his business associates, he gained prominence among them and attained an enviable position in the business world. ”