The
files of the old Spectator are full of history of doings in this city and in
Canada forty-six years ago. The morning express on the Great Western road ran
off the track near the Falls, and when the cause was investigated, it was found
that a switch had been tampered with, and as the trackmen were out on strike,
the accident was easily accounted for. The switch was alright until a few
minutes before the train was to pull out.
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A man was arrested in Cleveland, Ohio,
supposed to be Townsend, the murderer of Mr. Nelles. The Canadian authorities
had offered a reward of $7,000 for the capture of the celebrated outlaw, of
whom an account was given in the Spectator a few weeks ago. It was doubtful
that the man under arrest was Townsend, as the officers from Hamilton could not
identify him. The Cleveland papers insinuated that the Canadian authorities
were not anxious to prove the identity, as they did not want to pay the reward.
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There was great complaint about the
inefficiency of the city street inspector. A trap door in the sidewalk on John
street, between King and King William, was in a dangerous condition, and the
newspaper reporters had frequently called attention to it. The Spectator
suggested that the inspector was not fit for his job, and asked : “Is the
council afraid of him so that they dare not inquire into the numerous
complaints preferred?” The street inspector must have been a man with a
political pull.
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The Hamilton Board of trade must have
been a dead body in the long ago, for the Spectator says of it : “It is a happy
thing for Hamilton that her prosperity does not depend upon her Board of Trade.”
The subject under discussion was the building of the Huron and Ontario canal,
which was to connect Hamilton with Goderich. The engineer had reported that the
construction of the canal was feasible, and he recommended the expenditure of
$400 for a special survey of the route. The Spectator said “that this canal is
by no means so visionary a scheme as some of our down-east friends may imagine.”
The probable route was from Hamilton to a point south of Woodstock, then south
of London and running northwest to Lake Huron. It is needless to say that the
canal never got farther than the plans in the engineer’s office. That was one
of Hamilton’s opportunities that was only a dream.
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There was the same poverty of finances
forty-six years ago as there is now, and the board of works was the main
sufferer. The council had bankrupted the treasury by expending $18,000 in
leveling property in St. Mary’s ward, for the benefit of speculators, and which
was not called for a city improvement just then. The suggestion was made in the
council to tide over the shortage of funds by issuing debentures – just as the
council now talks of doing. One of the councilors said that it was not right to
put the money of the city into the pockets of speculators. Ald. Davidson
charged Ald. Gray (The Dodger) with being crooked. They were gay old boys in
the council of 1857.
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From the 1st to the 9th
of May, 1857, 1,883 emigrants arrived in Hamilton from Germany, England,
Ireland and Scotland, and of the number 1,482 moved to the United States while
only 401 settled in Canada. A large proportion were agricultural laborers, a
class much in demand at that time to settle on the free lands then being
offered as an inducement to emigrants.
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“The Ladies of Loretto,” a Roman
Catholic religious society, had applied to parliament for a charter to
establish in Hamilton an asylum for the orphans and destitute of their own
creed. George Brown, the editor of the Toronto Globe, was a member of
Parliament, and he led the Reform party in a factious opposition to the bill,
styling the intended asylum as one of the “nunnery and monkery” class. The
Spectator gave the Hon. George a dressing down for his illiberal views toward
the Catholic church.
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Hamilton was an ambitious city forty-six
years ago. It aspired to be the seat of government for Canada. A committee was
appointed to consider the question and an address forwarded to the colonial
secretary setting forth the claims of this city, and requesting her majesty to
refer the matter back to the Canadian government. And that was the last ever
heard of it.
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Hamilton made a start in the
shipbuilding line, and a number of steamboats and sailing vessels were built by
Whyte & Co. They had many obstacles to overcome, having to bring their ship
carpenters from Quebec. The best quality of oak was grown in this immediate
neighbourhood and was bought for $95 per thousand feet. The rigging hemp and
the material for the sails were specially imported from Belfast, Ireland, and
were made up by Mr. Grant. Bastien and Middlemiss were the ship carpenters in
charge of the work. The Union, which was launched on the 14th of
May, 1857, was considered one of the finest vessel built in this city, and the
owners refused an offer of $17,000 for her on the day she was launched. Capt.
William Zealand was proud of his vessel. An offer was made to charter the Union
for a trip to London, England, with a freight of black walnut lumber, but the
price was so low that it would not pay unless the vessel could secure return
freight from the city merchants. The Spectator of that day said : “We cannot
but regret this, as the trip would have been worth to our city much more than
the $1,200 extra which was asked, by way of an advertisement. If we had an
active Board of Trade they might have secured return freight for the vessel.”
The Union was later chartered for $2,000 to carry black walnut from Chatham to
Quebec, and Hamilton lost the benefit of the advertisement.
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