Authors: Richard J. Gwyn
Macdonald, “little ability, no political principles and no strength in numbers”: Stewart,
Origins,
p. 61.
Macdonald, “pre-Adamite Tories”: letter to Charles Lyndsay, June 18, 1860, Johnson and Stelmack,
Letters of Sir John A. Macdonald,
vol. 2.
Brown on possible Reform-Conservative alliance: Careless,
Brown,
vol. 2, p. 188.
Pp. 127â29 Macdonald letter to Brown Chamberlain: Jan. 21, 1856, Johnson,
Letters of Sir John A. Macdonald,
vol. 1, pp. 337â40.
“They [Scots] manifested a real goodwill”: Siegfried,
Race Question,
p. 55.
Pp. 130â31 Macdonald's fluency in French: From commentaries to author by historians Keith Johnson and Donald Smith. Sulte, “Macdonald was fond of reading French novels”: Sweeny,
George-Etienne Cartier,
p. 102 (also fn p. 131). Ged Martin, in “Sir John Eh? Macdonald,” cites a unlingual Quebec MP who claimed to have had many conversations in French with Macdonald. Smith cites a biography of Senator F.X.A. Trudel, who, in a February 1887 edition of
L'Etandard,
claims Macdonald spoke not a word of French. Martin, in “Sir John Eh?” cites the
Dictionary of Canadian Biography
as an authority that Laurier spoke English with a slight Scots accent. Taché's last letter to Macdonald, entirely in French, is quoted in Creighton,
Politician,
p. 418.
Macdonald, “steeped to the lips in corruption”: Swainson,
Macdonald,
p. 42.
MacNab, “all my politics are railroads”: Simpson,
Spoils,
p. 68.
Macdonald, “The party is nowhere”: letter by Macdonald to Campbell, March 8, 1855, LAC, Macdonald Fonds, vol. 194.
Macdonald, “the Parson”: Johnson,
Affectionately,
p. 15.
Louisa's rental arrangements with Williamsons: Pope,
Memoirs,
p. 650.
Macdonald, “Isabella has been very, very ill” and “desperately ill all last week”: Johnson,
Affectionately,
pp. 75, 77.
Macdonald, quoting Hugh John, “I like Kingston best”: ibid., p. 77.
Macdonald, “I am carrying on a war”: March 17, 1856, ibid., p. 77.
Macdonald, “The great reason I have always been able to beat Brown”: Pope,
Memoirs,
p. 653 (fn). Pp. 138â39 Brown description:
Dictionary of Canadian Biography,
vol. X; Careless,
Brown,
and Careless, “Brown's Political Ideas,” in
Careless at Work,
pp. 67â74.
“A campaign is George Brown in the pulpit”: Willison,
Reminiscences,
p. 178.
(fn) Brown, “men-stealers: Careless,
Brown,
vol. 2, p. 27.
Sheppard, “Take him on the ground of abuses”: Waite, “Ideas and Politics in British North America,” p. 100.
Macdonald, “every man should support his own religious teacher”:
Debates,
vol. XI, part I, pp. 546â48.
Brown versus Macdonald re Kingston Penitentiary: Creighton,
Politician;
Careless,
Brown;
and
Debates,
1849 (pp. 203, 207, 208), 1850 (pp. 1507â09), 1851 (pp. 519â20). Pp. 141â42 Macdonald, “If there is one thing to be avoided”:
Debates,
vol. XI, part III, p. 2296, March 23, 1853.
Brown, “What has French-Canadianism been denied?”: Careless,
Brown,
vol. 1, p. 166; Bliss,
Canadian Historical Documents,
pp. 92â94.
“Church and state could not really be separated”: Morton,
Shield,
p. 316.
CHAPTER 10: FORMS ARE THINGS
Macdonald, “You will see by the enclosed”: Johnson,
Letters of Sir John A. Macdonald,
vol. 1, p. 296.
Macdonald, “I am told there are a dozen [Conservative] candidates”: letter to Henry Becher, Dec. 5, 1857, ibid., p. 466.
A.J. Macdonnell to replace Campbell: Creighton,
Politician,
p. 208.
“Contrary to the claims of the Liberal politicians”: Sowby, “Macdonald the Administrator,” thesis, p. ii.
“He took these duties seriously”: Johnson,
Macdonald,
p. 206.
Macdonald, “I have infinitely more to do”: ibid., p. 207.
“He attached great importance to his correspondence” and “was exacting in his demands”: Pope,
Memoirs,
pp. 639, 655.
Macdonald, “the devil of a departmental reformer”: Waite,
Life and World,
p. 20.
Macdonald, “I'd as soon go to hell”: Gwyn,
Private Capital,
p. 118.
Responsibilities of attorney general: Johnson,
Macdonald,
pp. 207â208.
Pp. 153â54 Macdonald and Indian affairs: Smith, “John A. Macdonald and Aboriginal Canada,” pp. 10â14.
Macdonald and Rev. Peter Jones: Smith, ibid., p. 20. Pp.
155â56 Lewis, “all Criminal Law should be considered a transcript of the Divine Law”: Bellomo, “Attitudes Towards Crime,” p. 11.
Macdonald on sentence for attempted sodomy: letter to provincial secretary, May 7, 1864, LAC, Macdonald Fonds, vol. 587.
Macdonald on sentencing of thirteen-year-old girl: letter to provincial secretary, Nov. 16, 1864, ibid.
Macdonald on sentencing of Samuel Ross: July 12, 1858, Johnson and Stelmack,
Letters of Sir John A. Macdonald,
vol. 2, p. 65. Macdonald on poverty of another prisoner: June 15, 1859, ibid., p. 151.
Macdonald, “Your natural kindness of disposition”: Oct. 31, 1871, Creighton Papers, LAC, Macdonald Fonds, MG 29, F 9â3.
Brown, “the moral tomb of those who enter them”: Bellomo, “Attitudes Towards Crime,” p. 22.
Pp. 157â58 Macdonald, “Cut him dead”: Gwyn,
Private Capital,
pp. 93â94.
Macdonald, “The first duty of a Government”: June 19, 1871, LAC, Macdonald Letters, LB-15, pp. 940â41.
Macdonald, “We are satisfied that these requirements”: letter to Bench, Feb. 13, 1855, Johnson,
Letters of Sir John A. Macdonald,
vol. 1, pp. 240â41.
Macdonald, “to consider fitness as the first requirement”: Simpson,
Spoils,
p. 305.
“Sir John was always anxious”: Cartwright,
Reminiscences,
p. 49.
Macdonald promotion of William Ritchie to Supreme Court chief justice:
Dictionary of Canadian Biography,
vol. XII, entry for Ritchie.
Macdonald, “He is a Grit”: Stewart, “Macdonald's Greatest Triumph,” p. 6.
Macdonald, “Certainty of punishment”: Oct. 31, 1871, LAC, Creighton Papers, MG 29 L9â3.
Macdonald, “This is a country of law and order”: MacDermot, “Political Ideas,” p. 250.
CHAPTER 11: THE DOUBLE SHUFFLE
Macdonald, “Heap as many epithets and reproaches on me”:
Debates,
May 28, 1856, vol. XIII, part V, p. 2283.
Macdonald, “I might, as you know, have been Premier”: Nov. 13, 1856, Johnson,
Letters of Sir John A. Macdonald,
vol. 1, p. 392.
Campbell, “I dare say you are very busy”: Swainson,
Macdonald,
p. 43.
“Ah, John A., how I love you”: Cartwright,
Reminiscences,
p. 47.
Maclean, Macdonald “had a wonderful influence over many men”: Willison,
Reminiscences,
p. 184.
Macdonald, “He destroyed one or two marvellous good plots”: letter to James Strachan, Feb. 9, 1854, Johnson,
Letters of Sir John A. Macdonald,
vol. 1, pp. 100â102.
Macdonald, “It's a damned sharp curve”: Waite,
Life and Times,
p. 324.
Macdonald, “We are losing everywhere”: letter to Becher, Dec. 14, 1857, Johnson,
Letters of Sir John A. Macdonald,
vol. 1, p. 472.
Macdonald, “Canvass steadily and vigorously”: Johnson,
Macdonald,
p. 218.
Macdonald, “I am infinitely obliged to you”: Johnson,
Letters of Sir John A. Macdonald,
vol. 1, p. 1.
clientelism “long assumed to be a normal part of the political process”: Noel,
Patrons,
p. 15.
Zimmerman claims more members to be found in own apartment: ibid., p. 117.
Macdonald, “keep the Whitby Post Office [position] open”: letter to Smith, May 23, 1861, Johnson,
Letters of Sir John A. Macdonald,
vol. 1, p. 366.
Pp. 168â69 Macdonald, “As soon as Toronto returns Conservative members”: Stewart,
Origins,
p. 65.
Macdonald, “De L'Armitage is dying”: July 12, 1856, Johnson,
Letters of Sir John A. Macdonald,
vol. 1, p. 326.
Macdonald, “I have a letter from Noel wanting the Notaryship of the Bank”: letter to Charles Ross, June 7, 1864, ibid., vol. 3.
Macdonald, “It was of the very greatest importance”:
Debates,
Oct. 27, 1854, vol. XII, part II, p. 830.
Macdonald, “that the agitation will still be kept up” and “There is no maxim which experience teaches more clearly”:
Debates,
Nov. 6, 1854, vol. II, part II, pp. 897, 942â46.
“He should be sorry” and “if they [the opposition] could make the world all of one way of thinking”: Creighton,
Politician,
p. 221.
Queen's choice of Ottawa as capital: Gwyn,
Private Capital,
p. 37.
Head, “the least objectionable”: Memorandum,
CHR,
vol. 16 (1935), p. 417.
Macdonald, “an insult offered to the Queen”: telegram to S. Amsden, July 30, 1858, Johnson,
Letters of Sir John A. Macdonald,
vol. 2, p. 70.
Macdonald, “Some fish require to be toyed with”: Creighton,
Politician,
p. 267.
Pp. 177â78 Macdonald's comments on Cartier: Johnson and Stelmack,
Letters of Sir John A. Macdonald,
vol. 2, pp. 22, 235, 238.
Pp. 178â81 Description of Cartier: Sweeny,
Cartier;
Young,
Montreal Bourgeois; Dictionary of Canadian Biography,
vol. X; Best, “George-Etienne Cartier,” thesis.
“his career demonstrates the power of railways”: Young,
Montreal Bourgeois,
p. xii.
Cartier, “The prosperity of Montreal”: Underhill,
National Political Parties,
p. 372.
Cartier, “That is quite correct, I do not consult anybody”: Moore,
1867,
p. 136.
Cartier, “The activity of the heart”: Monck,
My Canadian Leaves,
p. 149.
Description of Luce Cuvillier: Young,
Montreal Bourgeois,
p. 35.
Macdonald, “sheet anchor”: letter to George Benjamin, June 4, 1861, Johnson and Stelmack,
Letters of Sir John A. Macdonald,
vol. 2, p. 342.
Cartier's plan to retire to England: Young,
Montreal Bourgeois,
p. 45.
CHAPTER 12: ISABELLE, HUGH JOHN AND DAISY
“grey unrelieved tragedy”: Creighton,
Politician,
p. 260.
Macdonald, “bare his bottom with dignity”: Aug. 21, 1857, letter to Helen Macdonald, Johnson,
Affectionately,
p. 82.
Pp. 184â86 Dr. McSherry's diagnosis of Isabella's illness: McSherry, “The Illness of the First Mrs. John A. Macdonald,” pp. 31â37.
Dr. Hyde's diagnosis: commentary to author.
Macdonald, “In the first place, tell Hugh that I am extremely pleased at the report”: April 11, 1861, letter to Louisa, Johnson,
Affectionately,
p. 95.
James Williamson's letters to father: Phenix,
Demons,
pp. 112â19.
Ploughboy
shipwreck scare: July 7, 1859, letter to Margaret: Johnson,
Affectionately,
p. 91.
CHAPTER 13: DOUBLE MAJORITY
Pp. 190â91 British commentary on Macdonald as “a distinguished statesman” and “the principal man”: Stewart, “Imperial Policy,” thesis, p. 108 (fn).
“Whither Are We Drifting?”:
Colonist,
June 29, 1858.
Jones, “through British American territory to the Pacific”: Pope,
Day,
p. 50.
“an almost total absence of a literature of pessimism”: Fallis, “Idea of Progress,” p. 176.
Keefer, “Steam has exerted an influence over matter”: Nelles,
Philosophy of Railroads,
p. xxv.
“Steam conquered space and time” Bliss,
Northern Enterprise,
pp. 161â62.
Keefer, “Ignorance and prejudice will flee”: Nelles,
Philosophy of Railroads,
p. xxxvii.
Canadian Gem,
“Canada is destined to become one of the finest countries”: Morton,
Shield,
p. 171.
Hind, “a magnificent futureâ¦which shall place the province”: Fallis, “Idea of Progress,” p. 172.
“Upon my word, I do not think that there is much to be said”: Noel,
Patron
s, p. 137.
Macdonald, “We are having a hard fight in the House”: letter to Margaret Williamson, March 29, 1858, Johnson,
Affectionately,
p. 89.
Macdonald, “We are getting on very slowly”: letter to Helen Macdonald, June, 17, 1858, ibid., p. 90.
Pope, “I believe, [he] had fully made up his mind”: Creighton,
Politician,
p. 337.
Macdonald, “When I have looked back upon my public life”: Kingston speech, November 1860, Macpherson,
Macdonald,
pp. 296â98.
Macdonald, “He is a very good fellow”: letter to Margaret, Johnson,
Affectionately,
p. 94.
Macdonald, “Take things pleasantly”: Waite,
Life and World,
p. 18.
Macdonald, “For twenty long years”: Pope,
Memoirs,
Appendix F, pp. 526â30.
Macdonald, “too abstract a question”: letter to Brown Chamberlin, 1855, Johnson,
Letters of Sir John A. Macdonald,
vol. 1, p. 292.
Globe,
“Our French rulers”: Sweeny,
Cartier,
p. 100.
Brown, “a deep scheme of Romish Priestcraft”: Slattery,
McGee,
p. 41.
Macdonald, “The Elections will come off in June”: letter to Ryerson, May 29, 1861, Johnson and Stelmack,
Letters of Sir John A. Macdonald,
vol. 2, p. 331.