PREFACE.

This memorial volume has swelled to dimensions far beyond the original intentions of the author. So far as paper and printer's ink are concerned, at least, subscribers get a great deal more for their money than was promised them. The plan of the work, which was to discuss such public questions as the Church in St. Gabriel Street had special connection with, and to give an account of the persons who filled office in the congregation, has been adhered to; but the details have covered more space than was apprehended. On taking counsel with friends, whose judgment I deemed reliable, I was led to believe that sketches of those who had taken a leading part in the church, for a hundred years, would add to the interest and value of the publication. These biographical notices have mainly contributed to the increased bulk of the volume.

It may well be thought surprising that the records of so humble an edifice should furnish materials for a book of 800 pages; but the variety of incidents centering in the quaint little church was quite remarkable, and the number of persons of note who had a more or less intimate relation to it, was very great. In the old world, a structure only a hundred years old would have no special reverence paid it; but with the rapid developments

which our city and country have witnessed, a century counts for much; and most readers will probably admit that it would be a pity that the events recorded and the persons described in these pages, should have been altogether forgotten.

I do not expect every reader to peruse the entire volume. Some will value it on account of the original documents bearing on the history of the country which it contains, and which it was thought desirable to make public. Others will pass these parts by without ever glancing at them. To Montreal readers, generally, the brief sketches of former well-known citizens, herein presented, will probably be the most attractive feature of the book; but even in this part of it, persons outside the city may take an interest, as many of those whose careers are sketched, belonged to Canada at large, as well as to Montreal. I cannot pretend to faultless accuracy in these brief narratives. It would be scarcely possible to have avoided mistakes in giving details of the lives of several hundred persons; but I can at least claim to have left unused no sources of information regarding them that I knew to be within my reach, and I hope that these biographies will be found, in the main, reliable. My function has been to ascertain facts, to show their mutual relations, and interpret them aright if possible. I am not to be held responsible for the facts themselves, but only for the manner of narrating them. Many things happened in connection with the old church which one could wish had never come to pass; but they were not to be undone by being suppressed. It is the business of the historian not to describe events as they

ought to have been, but as they were. In this spirit, I have done my work. I have spoken of men and things as I understand them to have been—nothing extenuated, nor aught set down in malice.

The engravings in this volume, of which there are two more than were promised to suscribers, are the handywork of George H. Matthews, of the Boston Wood Engraving Company, and have been pronounced good by competent judges. It is to be regretted, in the cause of superior art, that Mr. Matthews, after giving Montreal a trial for a year, did not find patronage sufficient to encourage him to remain with us, and so has returned to Boston.

There have been many excellent men and women connected with the St. Gabriel Street Church besides those herein mentioned,—persons probably as worthy of having been held in grateful remembrance. But the subjects of these sketches were not, for the most part, of my choosing. The ministers, as the chief centres of the life of the church during their several pastorates, have, of course, most space given to them. Then, as it was my plan to describe the office-bearers, the elders, the members of the temporal committee, the deacons, and the trustees, were already selected to my hand. They had commended themselves to their fellows in the church in the several generations, for their zeal and supposed ability to promote the interests of the congregation. Besides them, a few individuals whose outstanding qualities, or conspicuous careers, gave them a claim to notice which will not be challenged, have been assigned a place in this volume.

I had occasion to notice generous and public-spirited acts on the part of former citizens. Since those remarks were written, the whole world has been called on to admire the splendid gift to the city, in commemoration of the Queen's Jubilee, of Sir George Stephen and Sir Donald A. Smith, of $1,000,000 for Hospital purposes.

I have to express my acknowledgments to many friends who have encouraged me in this undertaking. To all the subscribers I owe thanks, as they have so far guaranteed the expenses involved in the publication. I have been specially indebted to the Hon. Justice Cross, the Hon. Alexander Morris, the Rev. Dr. Snodgrass, and Mr. T. S. Brown, Mr. Jas. Tasker, to the proprietors of the Montreal Gazette, Montreal Herald, and Montreal Witness, to the librarians of the Parliamentary Library at Ottawa, of McGill College, and of the Fraser Institute, to "Hochelaga Depicta," and Ville Marie," by Alfred Sandham, published by George Bishop & Co., to the Rector of Christ Church, to the ministers of the several Presbyterian Churches of the city,— and to numerous other persons who have kindly furnished particulars regarding their ancestors and relatives.

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I trust this volume may be deemed worthy of a place on the shelves of citizens generally, irrespective of creed, as containing information regarding the century, 1786 to 1886, that they would all wish to possess and preserve. It is only in a loose sense that the narrative can be called a "history." It would more accurately be designated a collection of raw materials, some of which may be useful to the historian; but such as it is, it is offered for the candid perusal of the public. The first issue of the volume is

limited to subscribers, but arrangements have been made to supply additional copies to new subscribers, whose names will be duly embraced in a future issue, if it shall be demanded. And now I take farewell of my readers. If they experience half the pleasure in glancing over these pages, that I have had in writing them, my labour of love will not have been in vain.

St. Gabriel Manse,

Montreal, July 15th, 1887.