THOMAS D'ARCY McGEE
BY
ALEXANDER BRADY
Lecturer in Political Science,
University of Toronto
TORONTO
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY OF CANADA LIMITED
1925
Copyright, Canada, 1925
BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY OF CANADA LIMITED
Printed in Canada
PREFATORY NOTE
In seeking information for this modeststory of the life of Thomas D'Arcy McGee,I received the kind assistance of the staff inthe Reference Library, Toronto, and alsothat of Dr. Doughty and his staff in theDominion Archives, Ottawa. I must particularlyacknowledge a debt to Mr. J. J. McGeeof Ottawa, brother of T. D'Arcy McGee. Hekindly allowed me to examine the materialwhich he had collected concerning hisdistinguished brother. Finally, I am indebtedto the editor of this series, Mr. W. S. Wallace,for helpful suggestions and criticisms.
A. B.
CONTENTS
I YOUTH
III THE PROPHET OF CANADIAN NATIONALITY
VII CONCLUSION
THOMAS D'ARCY McGEE
CHAPTER I
YOUTH
Thomas D'Arcy McGee had a uniqueplace among the Canadian statesmen ofhis time. His life was replete with dramaticinterest. Most of those who stood by thecradle of Confederation, wherever they hadbeen born, were fashioned in theirdevelopment by commonplace Canadian conditionsand environment. Such was not the case withMcGee. When he came to Canada, a youngman of thirty-two, he had already gonethrough the crucible of varied experiences.In another land and under different conditionshe had battled for a lost cause. He hadrisen quickly from impoverished boyhood todistinction. He had been a leader in anattempted revolution, a conspirator, a fugitiverebel, an exile. He had felt the thrill thatcomes to a poet, and the less intensesatisfaction that comes to the public leader. In thework that brought him fame, journalism, hehad a career equalled by few in its meteoriccharacter. He had been the editor orassistant editor of five newspapers, and on bothsides of the Atlantic had borne a large sharein intense controversies. He came toMontreal, in 1857, almost in the guise of anadventurer; and the portion of his life woveninto the story of Canada was no less dramaticthan that which preceded it. Within a fewmonths of his arrival, he was elected to thecolonial legislature; within a few years, hewas honoured as one of the outstandingstatesmen of the British colonies. In that ventureof political faith which resulted in th