I\u2019ve been reading a little more lately than I usually do this time of year. I recently picked up a book about John A. Macdonald. In case you don\u2019t know (I didn\u2019t) he was Canada\u2019s first prime minister. Part of the book was on the dull side, but it turns out that he was a pretty interesting guy. Seems like recently he\u2019s been treated maybe a little unfairly. In 2018 his image was removed from the Canadian $10 bill \u2014 his face had been on the bill since 1971. His name was removed from the Ottawa airport that was named in his honor in 1993. And a number of statues and monuments erected to honor him have been removed.\u00a0
But from what I can tell, by most standards, Macdonald was a good-humored, tolerant, liberal-minded man. He was known for his indulgence of criticism and for the charm of his personality.\u00a0 However, it does appear that he enjoyed much of life through an alcoholic haze \u2014 but \u2014 he wound up supporting the temperance movement\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1820 and arrived in Kingston, Ontario with his family when he was five.The future Sir John practiced law when he was only 17, supporting his mother and sisters when his father died. He was known to have wit, a good grasp of psychology, and an encyclopedic memory.
He went into politics and had the goal of uniting the British North American colonies into a new country. The fact that the inhabitants of Upper Canada were soured on Lower Canada, and Lower Canada thought the same about Upper Canada didn\u2019t faze him. On Canada\u2019s official start date \u2014 July 1, 1867, Macdonald became Canada\u2019s first prime minister and, with a few interruptions, stayed in charge until his death in 1891.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sir John\u2019s regime was often marked by scandal and he spent a good part of his career in the pocket of big railway interests. But despite his flaws, Sir John is still loved \u2014 even in the midst of current actions against his memory. For instance, a 2018 poll found that 70 percent of Canadians opposed the removal of his image from the $10 bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some of the best known stories about Macdonald concern his heavy drinking. Even in the days when both the House of Commons and the Senate had a bar directly beneath, and fully half the Members of Parliament were drunk by the late evening, Sir John stood out (maybe not up, but out.)
On the way to an election event, Sir John imbibed a little too much. As a result, he actually vomited on stage while his opponent was speaking. When his turn came to address the audience, Macdonald apologized \u2014 \u201c I don\u2019t know how it is, but every time I hear my opponent speak it turns my stomach.\u201d The crowd thought it was pretty funny.\u00a0
When party members complained about the heavy drinking of another member of parliament, Macdonald chewed that member out \u2014 \u201cLook here, McGee, this government can\u2019t afford two drunkards, and you\u2019ve got to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sir John gave a speech late at night after a liquid dinner. The speech didn\u2019t make much sense, so the reporter covering it visited Macdonald the next day and asked for help in reconstructing his words. As the reporter read his notes, Sir John jumped up and give the entire speech \u2014 correctly. The reporter thanked him and as he left, Sir John gave him a kind warning \u2014 \u201cNever report on a public speaker when you are drunk.\u201d
When a government commission looking into a complex real estate scandal called Macdonald to testify, he was on one of his binges. Macdonald had shaking hands and bleary eyes, and commission members sighed, giving up hope of anything useful. But Sir John then proceeded, without any hesitation or reference to notes, to give all the details of the transaction, going back 20 years, including exact dates.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In later life, during his happy second marriage, Macdonald curtailed his drinking and gave support to the temperance movement.
Given the political atmosphere in this country today, a \u201cSir John\u201d just might not be a terribly bad choice.\u00a0
\u2014 30 \u2014<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I\u2019ve been reading a little more lately than I usually do this time of year. I recently picked up a book about John A. Macdonald. In case you don\u2019t know (I didn\u2019t) he was Canada\u2019s first prime minister. Part of … Continue reading