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Alexandre-Maurice Delisle
A. M. Delisle, his Canada, and Sundry Observations as Suggested by an Envelope
This detailed biography of Alexandre Maurice Delisle [April 20, 1810 - February 13, 1880], a 19th-Century entrepreneur, company executive, and government official, shows that he was a close associate of members of the the first circle of Canadian luminaries. An attempt is made to present all web-based information available about him, even if trivial. The minor details included show what other authors have thought important, while the overall scope of this article should eliminate the need for researchers to duplicate the present writer's efforts at finding material. [Variant spellings of his name have been used, whether abbreviated, hyphenated, or Anglicized; only to facilitate matters for web search engines.]
 FRANAIS |
Introduction
This article was suggested by an envelope which passed through the present writer's hands, as he was deciphering its text for a Spanish-speaking gentleman from the Far East. (Permission is granted to copy the image of that envelope, on condition that the author and this web page are properly credited.) As the writer never has lost his interest in things historical, he embarked upon a further investigation, which gives rise to the following article: first presenting the envelope, then its recipient, and finally branching out into observations upon Canada; its societal diversity; the vicissitudes among the French, British, Canadians and Americans; and some vignettes of the 18th-Century contextualized for comprehension by 21st-Century non-historians. To show what other authors have thought important, or because of a bearing on more weighty facts, some apparently minor details are included. Attention had to be paid to not allowing references to the wrong Delisle skew the biographical portrait which was drawn. For example, searches for his brother, Michel-Charles, show many Charles Delisles without "Michel", causing potential confusion with the son, Charles-Alexandre, when not with other namesakes. It is to be noted that siblings and offspring listed depend upon the available data, and may not be complete. Such results are explicable, in that it has been noted that Canada gave rise to predominantly local and genealogical history, (although the latter is fraught with danger).[1] An Envelope Addressed to A. M. Delisle
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| Scan of an Envelope Addressed to A. M. Delisle in 1844 (pixel-definition removed to decrease file size). Observation: As this type of document can easily be lost, or destroyed in the worst of cases, or hidden among the assets of a private collector, permission is hereby granted to copy the images of the envelope, on condition that the author and this web page are properly credited. [Editing of the image by the present author has made it an original work for copyright purposes: Spanish notes and translations were superimposed, and essential information from the back of the envelope was merged with the image of the front.] |
Observations Concerning the Envelope
Postal Service in the Canada and World of 1844
One of the first things that the reader might notice is the lack of a postage stamp. A page on the web, reflecting the content above, with the mail going instead from Lower to Upper Canada, gives an explanation about the postal service in the Canada of that approximate time. According to that article, Canadian Postage Stamps were not issued until 1851[2], the law mandating their use having been passed May 25, 1849. In their stead, there is the rubber-stamping of the word "Paid" at the top centre-right of the envelope. The number "3" seems to suggest itself just to the right, which would conform to the lowest postal rate, the first stamp in the Province of Canada being the Three-Penny Beaver, or more correctly, a Three Pence stamp.[3]
Whether an inter-office note, or a reminder to the postal carriers, in the top left corner, the word "Immediate" is found written, and doubly underlined - to drive home the point.
The front of the envelope is postmarked by the issuing office, that being Kingston, while the back is postmarked upon by the receiving office in Montreal. The image shows that the correspondence was sent out on April 4, while another enhanced image shows that the mail was received April 7. Such a backstamp was common practice elsewhere in the world at that time, too.[4]
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| Secretarial [?] annotation along the right side of the envelope, the annotation "Rec[eive]d 7 April 1844" was added, thus further confirming the Montreal postmark date - and the speed of the mails. [Image with number of pixels reduced]. |
The question may be asked, considering the absence of the contents of the envelope, how Monsieur Delisle was identified as Alexandre Maurice. The evidence is as follows:
1. Following his name, the honorific title of "Esquire" appears. By itself, it would mean little - even the present author once received a letter from a public servant, who used the same naming convention. However, that would doubtlessly not have happened so casually during the Nineteenth Century.
2. The letter comes from an official of the Crown, as evidenced by the wax seal on the back of the envelope. From the front, it is already known that this official was in Kingston.
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| Seal of the Clerk of the Crown of the Chancery[5] Division of the Government of the Province of Canada |
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| A pictorial footnote: Similar seal from 1842, from the Ober-Post-Amt (High, or Superior Post Office) of the Rhine Province of Prussia, in Dsseldorf. The other side of the envelope was also unstamped, gave a value of 2, which was cancelled, as it were, by pencil strokes. This is from a registered letter to someone (name illegible) in Eastern Europe. |
3. No address is shown for the intended recipient. Montreal was a major city, even in 1844. It can therefore be reasonable to think that A. M. Delisle was a prominent person of the community.
4. Research has shown that Delisle represented a district of Montreal in the Provincial Government. Therefore, a connection has been made with the above 3 points: he would be addressed as Esquire, there is reason for the Government to communicate with him, and his prominence is such that no address is necessary.
5. The year in question is the last in which Kingston was the seat of Government for the Province of Canada.
6. The grey image above, with its annotation, is one more bit of evidence of the importance of the recipient. Whether the recipient himself, or a secretary, made that note, its very existence suggests the importance that the addressee attaches to the material, even though it would appear that the Montreal postmark should have been sufficient.
7. It has furthermore been discovered that the Cuvillier family, Delisle's in-laws, owned property in Kingston, and that Mr. Cuvillier was Speaker of the House there. With point 5, it is then seen that the Delisle and Cuvillier were in the Kingston-based Legislature simultaneously. (See below, at 1852, for an advertisement to sell the Kingston Property.)
Alexandre-Maurice Delisle
Family Background and Activities to his Father's death [1838].
A.-M. Delisle was the son of John, or Jean-Baptiste Delisle, a clerk in Montreal's civil courts; the latter having had both a father and grandfather who were important notaries of the same city.[6] Jean started as an assistant clerk [of the peace] at the age of 18 in 1798, [7] which places his birth in the year 1780. He was married to Mary Robinson.[8] Alexander (to call him by his English name), was the third son of that marriage, [9] born on April 20, 1810, [10] and baptized the following day.[11] From 1817 to 1822, Alex studied at the Petit Sminaire de Montral.[12] From 1828, he was a subclerk for his father, [13] thus having entered the profession at at the same age. He was admitted to the bar in 1832.[14] As of January 8, 1833, he began his cursus honorum[15] as a Clerk of the Peace, [16] and from February 23 onward, a Clerk of the Crown, [17] these two offices suggesting that he was "specialized in criminal business".[18] On the 29th of April, he married Marie-Anglique Cuvillier, daughter of a merchant, in the Notre-Dame church of Montreal.[19] He became church-warden of Notre-Dame on December 11, 1837.[20] A son, Maurice Nolan, was born that same year.[21] In April of 1838, he became a Commissioner to receive oaths of the Special Council[22] of Lower Canada, [23] and shortly afterward, on May 25, Clerk of the Peace.[24] An inference of nepotism is not necessarily justifiable. The British Minister of War and of the Colonies, Lord Glenelg, wrote to Lord Durham, then Lieutenant-Governor of Lower Canada and Governor General of the Province of Canada, in a missive dated July 5, 1838:My Lord,
I have to acknowledge the receipt of Sir J. Colborne's despatch of the 24th May (No. 46), reporting that he had appointed Mr. William Henry Brehaut to the situation of clerk of the peace for the district of Montreal, vacant by the decease of Mr. John Delisle.
Although I am not acquainted with Mr. Brehaut's name, and Sir J. Colborne's despatch does not state his grounds for selecting this gentleman, I have no reason to doubt that the selection is a proper one, and that Mr. Brehaut is well fitted to discharge the duties of the office; but as it is of the utmost importance that, in the arduous duties which your Lordship will have to perform, you should be assisted by officers possessing your entire confidence, I shall suspend advising Her Majesty to confirm this appointment until I shall be informed that you approve of Mr. Brehaut as clerk of the peace.[25]
Mr. Brehaut did receive his appointment, as a notice in the Gentleman's Magazine points out. Under the sub-heading of "Promotions, Preferments, &c", for October 26, the following entry is made: "Wm. Henry Brehaut, esq. to be Clerk of the Peace for the district of Montreal, in Lower Canada."[26] The position was held jointly with Delisle, in spite of Glenelg's wording.[27]
An February 17, 1840 signature by A. M. Delisle as "Attorney" in the release of one of the accused of the Quebec rebellions, a Captain Franois Jalbert, does not seem to signify any new title, the context suggests he is operating in his capacity as a clerk.[28]
The following is the verbatim DjVu.txt version of the praise such men as the Delisles received in the Eighteenth Century. Note: in the following verbatim transcription, Hon'ble is used as an abbreviation for "Honourable", "RoUand" is "Rolland", and "Sheriif" is "Sheriff".[29] - P.K.M. (Users of upper end machines may view the PDF file. [p. 12])
The administration of justice for the District of Mont-
real in the year 1831, just before the beginning of the
agitation, and for some years previous to 1837-38, was in
the hands of gentlemen of approved mental ability and
of great legal lore. "We find that the chief Justice
was the Hon'ble James Reid, whilst the Puisne judges[30]
were Hon'ble G-eo. Pyke, Hon'ble Norman Uniacke and
the Hon'ble Jean Roch RoUand. The Sheriif was the
Hon'ble Louis Grugy. Deputy Sheriff, Francis Perry,
Coroner, Jean M. Mondelet, and clerk of the Crown,
John Delisle.[31]
The son was to exceed the father, at least as far as the historical record is concerned. Among his first big cases was that of, as Clerk of the Crown, of members of the 1838 Quebec Rebellions.[32] This is the first available record on the internet of his interaction with a clearly political event.
Political Interlude and Return to Clerks of Crown and Peace Position.
The year 1841 has him thrust into a new role in the newly created, out of the ashes of the Colony of Canada, the United Province of Canada East and Canada West[33]. (or just "The United Province of Canada".) Combined with whatever benefits his positions as a Crown Clerk had given him, he moved with the spirit of the times by casting his lot with the British, rather than the Quebec nationalists. The authority he had vested in him was used to his advantage to get elected, or, at least, the British representative is accused of foul play. One or both of the following illustrate something about election procedure of that time:
(1) The short biography by Monet treats a violent event most casually, as if it were irrelevant. He describes that the British-appointed governor, Lord Sydenham (Charles Poulett Thompson) had requested Delisle to run against a James Leslie in Montreal County.[34] Delisle, in this account, to better ensure his victory, and the more readily to enjoy the respect of the voters, "had had himself appointed a police magistrate a few days before. It was an unnecessary precaution, for after a, few scenes of violence in the course of which two of his Irish supporters were killed, a riot broke out and Delisle was proclaimed elected."[35]
(2) Jacques Lacoursire accuses Sydenham of the following: fixing elections in Winter, thereby making it difficult for the francophone vote; having voting offices there, where English-speakers were in the majority; andhaving the Glengarry volunteers (a militia) at the beck of the union candidate.[36]
There is also a note in French, criticizing the classification by the Gazette de Qubec as neutral, or of uncertain political alignment, "lors class parmi les dputs neutres ou aux principes incertains quatre candidats qui, manifestement, recevait lappui du gouvernement colonial dans leur campagne: John Yule (Chambly), Colin Robertson (Deux-Montagnes), Michael McCulloch (Terrebonne) et Alexandre-Maurice Delisle (Comt de Montral).[37] (four candidates who manifestly received the support of the colonial government in their campaigns).
One may well ask, what the point of winning this election was for Delisle. The first Session of Parliament was in the new capital, Kingston, in 1841. Although politically his sympathies did lie with the conservative Unionists, [38]and he spoke against the contrary position of John Neilson's famous motion condemning the Union, [39] on June 23, 1841. He resigned to accept a renomination as Clerk of the Peace on July 4, 1843, [40], having already become Clerk of the Crown on April 13, 1843.[41] One of his first assignments would be to investigate labour violence by workers of the Lachine Canal near Montreal.[42]
During his parliamentary period, Delisle was already profiting from the sale of property. Montreal needed, in order to fight fires, to have a water reservoir [or tank, depending on the correct translation], and he sold a property to the city in 1842 for that purpose. However, he was able to stipulate the width of the streets on either side, the material to be used in the construction of the homes, and the prohibition of the construction of industrial buildings.[43] His own home in the Montreal suburb of Boucherville was one of the few spared when that village burned down on June 20, 1843.[44]]
1844 to 1880
1844: In March, he was the Returning Officer in a Montreal by-election, giving "unqualified support" to William Molson, [45] of the family associated with Canada's largest brewery.
1846: Delisle appears listed as an honorary member of the directorate of the Banque d'epargnes de la Cit et district de Montreal.[46] 1849: Death of his father-in-law, Augustin Cuvillier.[47] In partnershipwith Benjamin-Henri Lemoine, he hasthe wooden LachapelleBridge constructed by Pascal Persillier-Lachapelle.[48]He investigated the Montreal Riots which took place in April of the same year.[49]
1850:Director of the Montreal and District Savings Bank, (same bank as mentioned in French, [above], for the year 1846).[50]
This was the year of birth for Marie-Georgianne.[51]
Auguste-Frdric Quesnel sells a large portion of his property, 125 acres [50.6 ha., estimated to be about 8 city blocks], to Alexandre-Maurice Delisle and William Workman, who divide up the land, and develop it, first to be known as Delisle Village, [52] the town of Sainte Cungonde, which was later to be incorporated into the city of Montreal. This undertaking was to be more successful than the apparent naivete he displayed in a case he handled that same year together with the aforementioned Brhaut. Some landowners against reforms in Quebec were burning down schools -Delisle and Brhaut investigated. While Delisle first doubts that the accused were responsible, in a letter dated November 15, he reverses his opinion: M. Leveille [Fourquin] is the most accomplished villain and hyprocrite I ever met with. You will see by the depositions that he did all but hold the torch ... The breaking of his own House was a mere sham to veil his iniquitous conduct. Immediately after this fire emissaries came to him from St. Franois du Lac the adjoining Parish daily and a few days after a School House there was broken and attempted to be burned. Mr. Lebrun, the Cur of Yamaska... told me that he had letter from Curs who told him that they were already beginning to feel the effects of the burning at Yamaska... You are aware that Mr. Leveill [sic, variant spelling] is a man of large means and that it may be difficult, if at all possible, even in the clearest evidence, to convict him before a T. Rivers Jury.[53]
1851: Name placed in the November, 1851 edition of The Canada Directory: containing the names of the professional and business men of every description, in the cities, towns, and principal villages of Canada, as one of the directors of the Montreal City And District Savings Bank (mentioned under 1850).[54]
1852: An advertisement in the Kingston Daily News, of 3 January 1852, relating to the sale of property belonging to the Cuvilliers, and showing another connection between the cities of Kingston and Montreal:
p.2
FOR SALE
at Kingston, C.W.
That valuable property in Ontario St. consisting
of TWO THREE STORY STONE HOUSES,
Offices, etc. and WATER LOT in rear, on which
are erected an Extensive Wharf and Stores,
belonging to Heirs Cuvillier. This property was
lately occupied by the Quebec Forwarding
Company, and is well suited to the Carrying
Trade. If not disposed of by private Sale,
previously, it will be put up at public AUCTION,
on the premises, on the 3rd February next, at
10 o'clock A.M.
Cheap, and Terms Easy.
Apply to
THOMAS KIRKPATRICK, Esq., Kingston.
Or in Montreal to A.M. DELISLE.
Montreal, Dec. 29, 1851.[55]
The year 1853 was a busy one for Delisle. On the business side, he presented, according to the accounts of the day, a petition on behalf of the citizens of Montreal, to have a railroad built which was to unite the cities of Quebec, Montreal, and Bytown (now, Ottawa).[56] There are also a couple of religious concerns. On the one hand, the burnt-down Montreal cathedral needed replacing, the citizenry apparently did not approve of the idea of begging abroad for funds, and Delisle, with Jacques Viger and Cme-Sraphin Cherrier went to inform the bishop that the time had come for the latter to respond to those sentiments.[57] On July 17, at a meeting with four other churchwardens, a decision was made about a new cemetery, as the old one had achieved capacity.[58] Around this time, he was also appointed by the government as a member of a commission to enquire into the Gavazzi Affair.[59] In 1854 he became president of the Montreal and Bytown Railway, to which he had apparently contributed about 1.2% of the total cost.[60] He is listed as a president and director of the Champlain and St. Lawrence Railroad of the State of New York in an 1856 directory.[61] He was also designated as a member of the committee representing the products of his part of the world in the Exhibition in Paris.[62] His mother-in-law, Claire Perrault, died the following year, [63] the same one in which the aforementioned cemetery, the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges, opened.[64]as Clerk of the Crown and of the Peace, (representing Montreal, together with others of Lower Canada, i.e.Quebec), had been appointed by the government of Canada to investigate returning officers' accounts.[65] Resolutions of a board meeting of the Banque du Peuple, in 1857, show an optimistic Delisle, who also signs as an "Auditeur" for the said institution, and after having been reappointed for the following year: "moved ... [t]hat the Board believes it to be its duty to profit from the occasion by declaring the increase of the Bank's capital, an increase with which one can guarantee that circumstances so favourable are auguries of better results, while putting the Bank in the position of being able to contribute ... to the development of commerce and industry, and of being able to realize profit in accordance with the growth of its prosperity."[66] That same year, a daughter, Marie Elmire, married Patrick, [67] the son of the wholesaler and politician, James Leslie.[68] who already has been mentioned earlier as the political rival of Delisle in a Montreal election.
In 1859, he was a Harbour Commissioner for the City of Montreal, a position which he was to have again in 1860. Furthermore, the city had him put in charge of the group that was to prepare for the arrival of the Prince of Wales.[69] The document about his appointment to harbour responsibilities, shows that he was a government appointee, and not a representative of one of the following interest groups: the city or Board of Trade of Montreal, the Corn Exchange, or shipping interests.[70] He would continue to serve in this capacity for the years 1861, for which there is a record of a meeting on Montreal, 19th July, 1861;[71] the 5th and 7th of April, as well as the 5th of June in 1862;[72] 1863, [73] and 1864.[74]
On March 12, 1862, he also took the post of sheriff of Montreal.[75] On the investment side, land he had on the corner of Dollard Street was to double in value ten years later.[76] Records also exist of legislation in his favour: an Act to incorporate the Terrebonne Turnpike Road Company, and an Act to incorporate a company for the construction of certain turnpike roads in Isle Jsus.[77]
Furthermore, in 1862 he acquired from the estate of Jacques Viger a large property on the corner of Notre-Dame and Bonsecours, which was used in the construction of 4 buildings.[78]
Thus things were, until his brother, Michel-Charles, accused him of corrupt practices, for which reason he lost the position of sheriff in 1863 (December 19), and that of Harbour Commissioner, in (January) 1864 (From the referenced Sessional Paper, it is seen in the accuser, having committed an act against the laws of the country... and forced to become a refugee in the States.)[79] Legislative involvement in the affair is documented online, and the motion by the Honorable Mr. Cartier, seconded by the Honorable Mr. Macdonald (Kingston), [80] should be seen as one made by friends - a conclusion based on the affinity of the politics of the 3 men, in spite of George-tienne Cartier's earlier, more radical, position.[81] Work on Ste. Cungonde is also reported. [Cf. note 47].
 Click for web page with a Delisle photograph. |
| or Here is the original 1865 image by Wm. Notman. Submission of a copyright-free image would be very much appreciated. |
McCord Museum / Wm. Notman image: this one of Delisle in 1866, wearing kilt and feather.
While he may have lost his political appointments, Delisle remained active. He was appointed Commissioner on a trade mission to the Caribbean and Latin America: a meeting in Quebec in September, 1865, of the Confederate Council of Trade, resolved to request "that steps be taken to enable the British North Americanan Provinces to open communications with the West India [sic] Islands, with Spain and her Colonies, and with Brazil and Mexico, for the purpose of ascertaining in what manner the traffic of the Provinces with these countries could be extended, and placed on a more advantageous footing."[82] The activity that he undertook with his fellow commissioners was considered by a Mr. Vogel as a model to be followed in New Zealand.[83] It was thus that in 1866 he went off to the West Indies for the first time, prior to visiting Mexico, Brazil, and several other countries of the region.[84] That same year, on August 20, he accepted the post of Collector of Her Majesty's Customs for Montreal, and 2 days later, he again was a member of the Harbour Commission.[85] In 1868, his religious ecumenism is seen, in that he is identified as a Lay Delegate to the Anglican Synod at Montreal.[86]
In 1869, a case against Delisle went on the way to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London, regarding a claim against him as a result of the bankruptcy of the Montreal and Bytown Railway. The amount initially involved was 638, or a bit over $100, 000 in current money.[87]
As a man of the city, he was a property owner therein, whether alone, or jointly. In addition to the Ste. Cungonde development and other previously mentioned properties, records give the following (approximations, in acres [A], and hectares [ha]), for the Centre Division, East Ward Area of Montreal:
1) owned in his own name: 4.8 A, or 1.96 ha.
2) owned jointly with William Workman: 2.96 A, or 1.6 ha.
3) owned by his wife: 0.05 A, or about 205 square metres.
4) owned jointly by his wife, and others: 1.4 A, or 0.57 ha.[88]
One of the properties, on Darling Street, became the Notre-Dame-de-lAssomption School, also known as cole Louis-Jolliet, located in Montreal's Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district[89]
His daughter, Marie Elmire, died on 24 November, 1871, in his residence on Sherbrooke Street, and was buried four days later.[90]
An example of how Delisle was clearly identified with progress in Canada is through a report which mentions, how as one of the Harbour Commissioners in 1873, he had the insight to have a canal of Lake St. Peter, or, Lac St. Pierre, (Montreal area) deepened, in order to aid navigation.[91] Lack of good transportation infrastructure to the Atlantic area through the Quebec area was a bone of contention between western, English-speaking Canada, and Quebec.
Two daughters were married that year, Victoria-Cordlia (date unknown), and on April 2, Marie-Georgianne.[92]
It was to extend the operations of his Gulf of Saint Lawrence Steamship Company that he again visited the West Indies in 1878.[93]
Delisle died Friday 13, in February of 1880. He was buried 4 days later, in the cemetery that he had helped create, the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges. His son, Maurice Nolan, who had been managing his father's affairs since 1877, then became manager of the estate, and, like his father, was the director of the City and District Savings Bank, the Quebec Steamship Company, and the Isle Jesus Turnpike Company.[94]
Analysis of the Financial Position of A. M. Delisle
It is difficult, when reading material from a by-gone century, to truly understand what people were really earning, spending, and investing. The following gives rounded figures, based on the cited sources:
There was practically no inflation of the British pound between 1796 and 1914 - yes, there were ups and downs - periods of inflation and deflation, but on the whole, a constant value as defined in terms of the 1974 value of a pound.[95] Furthermore, the Canadian currency was only slightly devalued (3%) from the British pound, and it can be taken as a given, that save for an anomoly in the latter part of the 20th Century, and the first part of the ensuing decade, the value of the Canadian Dollar has been similar to that of its U.S. counterpart. Taking that Delisle's father was making 1000 pounds per year after 1830, then in 2008, he would have been earning around 160, 000 in U.S. Dollars.[96] (On a comparative basis, John D. Rockefeller was making less than $12, 000 at the time (in 2010 figures) upon taking the job of a book-keeper who had been earning 4 times as much.[97]) As has been mentioned, the son did better than the father.
One indication that is available reveals that the rent on a property on the corner of Notre Dame and Dollard Streets as $1000 in 1862 and as $1840 in 1872. This implies an annual receipts of $21, 930 and $33, 620 respectively, in modern terms.[98] It is to be remembered that this is just one of several properties, and not the only source of income.
Jacques Monet gives 3 details about Delisle's wealth. There was a donation of $300 to religious foundation. In 2010 terms, that comes out to about $6, 800 dollars. There was a gift of $2, 000 to a priest - about $45, 400 in current terms. More indicative of economic status is the sum of 70, 000 which was to be deducted from the inheritance his two sons, Maurice-Nolan and Charles-Alexandre, upon their mother's death, because the duo had lost that amount of their father's money in a bad investment. The offspring's share was thus reduced by about $10.5 million dollars.[99]
Conclusion
Delisle was no Father of Canadian Confederation, his time as an elected member was short. Why should he matter, then? He was leaven in the effervescence leading up to an independent Canada, with the confidence, as has been pointed out, of the British-appointed Governor of the colony which Canada was at that time. He helped develop infrastructure, sorely needed for the prosperity of his part of the world - he contributed to road, bridge, railroad, and even city building, he was involved in shipping, and harbour improvements, to the point of improving the fluvial transport system. Although some of his works might seem to have been for personal benefit, once he sold his holdings, they generally became part of something larger, and well known. The town of Sainte Cungonde became part of the megalopolis of Montreal, the Champlain and St. Lawrence Railroad eventually became part of the Grand Trunk, and finally the Canadian National Railway. The bank of which he was a director served a charitable purpose: it became the Laurentian Bank of Canada, its presence in Quebec supposedly similar to that of HSBC.Delisle died more than 80 years before "bilingualism" and "biculturalism" were to become important in the vocabulary of Canadian politicians, and practically 100 years before "diversity" was to become a catchword. Nevertheless, it has been shown here that Delisle got along well with the Scotsman Father of Confederation John A. MacDonald, and he convinced an important personage to listen to sermons of a churchman of his religion, while being accepted as a delegate to another religion, and having a daughter married into another denomination. One of the images of him even shows him in what appears to be a brave's feather in his Scottish cap. The bank of which he was a director, and which was under the patronage of the Roman Catholic Bishop, had a Jewish director, Henry Judah, who would later be its president. One of the individuals on a commission of enquiry with Delisle, Charles Ermatinger had Swiss-German and Ojibway-Native American blood. A greater mix of religious and cultural diversity in nineteenth-century Quebec must be impossible to find.
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| A second pictorial footnote: Further above, there was a link to a photo of Delisle in Kilt and a feather in his cap, however, it needs to be admitted that it is no proof of the degree of acceptance of diversity. This caption provides a link showing that the feather in the cap among the Scottish[100] is tied to heraldic traditions, which are to be observed. The question then becomes, was Delisle showing affinity with Indian traditions at the same as as he was wearing the kilt, or was he simply showing himself as a Scotsman. The above image is a crop from of an image by a certain Forster for "Macbeth", Shakespeares Dramatische Meisterwerke II (Illustrierte Ausgabe). Verlag der Literaturwerke "Minerva". Leipzig. (ca. 1899).[101] |
From the viewpoint of his investments, it may be concluded that railroads were important to him, because so-called drawback legislation of 1845 in the U.S. would have taken trade away from Western Canada, while the Montreal port was closed half of the year. The steamship connection can be argued from a similar point of view - as the port was open only half the year, during the first years of the French colony, as Easterbrook and Aitken point out, only one trip per year could be made to the West Indies.[102] At least the steamship would speed things up considerably.
It could be said that he exceeded the works of most politicians of the time, by doing, and not talking. It has already been stated that he moved with the spirit of the times, and that he bet on the winning horse, as it were. The historian Creighton refers to the inhabitants of Quebec after annexation by the British as excluded from certain business, unwilling or unable to commit to some others, but either staying in agricultural, or dedicating themselves to the Church, or the Law.[103] If Creighton was right, Delisle was exceptional, by breaking out of the limited circle of opportunity.
Appendix: Incidentals and Contextualization
Etymology of Delisle
"Delisle" breaks down into "De" + "l'le", that is, "of + the island". It may be not only French, but English or Scottish, through the Normans. An English version is De Lisle, while the stripped down versions Lile or Lyle also exist. As the name deformed, it might not mean that someone was from a specific island, but from the French city of Lille [link is in French about the city, for the name, see the next link] or from one of various places called Lisle.
Elegance in the Naming of Delisle on the Envelope and in Fact
Beyond whatever elegance one may behold in the flourishes made by whomever penned Delisle's address, one might also consider the term "elegance" in its mathematical, logical, or scientific meaning, and find, in the realm of probability, a certain neatness of expression between "Delisle, Esq."[104] Assuming the prefix "De" to imply a certain level of prestige, that same prestige is repeated in "Esquire". Before the French Revolution, the "de" prefix meant that one was a landowner. A source states that this could imply the same embarrassment as the use of the "Esquire" label.[105]
Whatever the reasons for the naming convention may be, there is also an elegance in the naming of his sons. Note the construction of the given names:
FATHER: Alexandre-Maurice
SONS: Charles-Alexandre Maurice-Nolan
Delisle's Canada: A Brief History of Conflict Solution and Diversity
Too much of history accentuates war, Rabelais' "fine thing" [from the Latin, with a false etymology, "bellum"]. Certainly less exciting for young schoolboys, but more useful for civilization, is the study of the diplomacy of nations, and their positive economic progress. Only a few points can be mentioned:
First Raw Material: Codfish: Fishing grounds off the coast of Newfoundland were shared, at one time or another, by English, French, Spanish and Portuguese, and then also, some members of the Thirteen Colonies, both before and after their independence from Britain. Sometimes friction arose.
Second Raw Material: Furs: While England claims Newfoundland, and the Thirteen Colonies, France claims a territory around the St. Lawrence River. Eventually, it extends as far as to include the Southern Ontario Peninsula, (making up New France, or Paris's Province of Canada), and would be united geographically with the Mississippi Basin, blocking in the Thirteen Colonies. The French claim was actually larger, because a part was to be lost with the Treaty of Utrecht.
1629: The Kirke Brothers, (variously described as buccaneers, or having received permission to do so, through letters of marque), working in the interests of British merchants, captured Quebec. In 1632, British King Charles I returned the colony, in return for the payment of the remainder of his wife's dowry.
Frenchman Mdard Chouart des Groseilliers and Pierre-Espirt Radisson, having been snubbed by their Governor of New France, offer the idea of fur trade in the Hudson's Bay area to Boston merchants, who sent them to the English Court of Charles II. The sequence of events allowed them to start on their return to the Hudson's Bay area in 1668, and the result of the excellent furs obtained became the beginning of the Hudson's Bay Company.
The French captured most of Newfoundland in the War of the League of Augsburg, or the Nine-Years' War, (1689-1697), but these gains were forfeited by the Treaty of Ryswick.
In 1713, the Treaty of Utrecht caused France to lose, among other territories, lands around Hudson's Bay. Though losing Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, the loss was not 100 %. France managed to get concessions for Newfoundland, which remained in force as late as 1972.
New France is ceded to the British in the Treaty of Paris, 1763.
The Quebec Act of 1774 annexes more territory to Canada, and defines Indian areas anew. Concessions were given to the conquered, that were not available in England or the other Colonies, for example, the exercise of the Roman Catholic religion, and the retention of certain feudal customs, such as the seignorial system.
The 1783 Treaty of Paris ends the Revolutionary War of the Colonies. King George III shows himself as both powerful and merciful.
Third Raw Material: Lumber: The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars caused the British Navy to require large quantities of lumber, some of which would no longer be available from the Baltic. Jefferson's Embargo Act of 1807 exacerbated matters. Canada made up the shortfall.
The Treaty of Ghent, following the War of 1812, reaffirms the 1783 boundaries between Canada and the United States. The Rush-Bagot Convention of 1817 prohibited major warships on the Great Lakes, while the Convention of Commerce of 1818 fixed boundaries and a temporary freedom for both British and Americans west of the Rockies. The Oregon Treaty of 1846 brought and end to this.
The Act of Union of Upper and Lower Canada, to form the Province of Canada, was passed in 1840, and proclaimed in 1841. Kingston is the capital of this Province until 1844.
A Reciprocity Treaty (free-trade) was signed between Canada and the United States in 1854.
In 1867, the embryonic Dominion of Canada is given a "constitution", the British North America Act. The name "Kingdom of Canada" was rejected so as not to offend Americans.[106]
Other disputes were yet to be resolved between the two countries, but the noteworthy points are: (1) Britain never showed a permanent hostility towards France. (2) Britain never showed a permanent hostility to her former thirteen colonies of the Atlantic Seaboard. (3) Further, she never showed herself so hard to her French-speaking subjects of Canada, as towards her own subjects of the Roman-Catholic religion.
It is seen then, that Delisle lived in a country which had seen three main industries, which were to continue to hold sway until the second half of the Twentieth Century: fish, furs, and lumber. To this, the Delisle family is seen involved in industries involving iron (its trade, among the sons, steamships and railroads for Alexandre.)
A Famous Namesake's Map of Delisle's Canada.
 |
| 1718 Map by Guillaume Delisle at Wikipedia[107] and extracted from The Library of Congress[108] [U.S.A.] Carte de la Louisiane et du cours du Mississipi [i.e. Mississippi]: dresse sur un grand nombre de mmoires entrautres sur ceux de Mr. le Maire / par Guillaume Del'isle del Academie R'le. des Sciences. |
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| Region Discussed in this article, with various different name changes shown.[109] The red spot on the northernmost tip of Lake Ontario shows the location of Kingston, following the St. Lawrence River in a northeasterly direction, another red dot reveals Montreal (click on image to enlarge). |
The above map, because of its coloration, is being used to illustrate the apparent vast emptiness of Canada, a region which the French philosophe Voltaire contemptuously referred to as "quelques arpents de niege", meaning, "a few arpents of snow". Another of the demeaning ideas is that the name derived from the Spanish reports of the area, informing that "ac [or] c nada": "Here, nothing!"
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| Copyrighted Image-Used with Permission of J. F. Hansen, conceded by e-mail to the author, on Fri, Oct 1, 2010 at 7:31 PM Kingston City Hall: First Parliament Building in Canada (clock tower is not part of the original building) |
Un peu de franais
Rsum
L'auteur du prsent a pris conscience de l'existence de Alexandre-Maurice Delisle quand une enveloppe portant le nom de Delisle a pass par ses mains, tout en traduisant des articles-souvenirs historiques. Comme le sceau officiel d'un greffier de la Couronne ont indiqu une certaine importance du destinataire, ainsi que le nom sur l'enveloppe est abrg, des donnes ont t recueillies pour prouver que A.-M. Delisle est en fait lequel de cet article. Les preuves sont: les termes du mandat concomitant par Delisle et son beau-pre, Cuvellier, l'Assemble de la Province du Canada dans la capitale fdrale, Kingston, en 1846; un immobilier de Cuvellier dans la mme ville, pour lequel Delisle plus tard essayer de trouver un acheteur; des rsidences Montral de Cuvillier y Delisle; des dates appropries et de l'utilisation du titre honorifique, Esquire , applicable aux hommes comme a. Toutes les informations ont t recueillies en ligne, o les sources primaires ont t facilement accessible, chaque fois qu'un logiciel de reconnaissance optique a fourni transcriptions prcises. Le matriel est gnralement prsent comme une chronologie. Alexandre-Maurice Delisle fut avocat, grant de la socit, entrepreneur et fonctionnaire du gouvernement. Aprs sa retraite comme membre de l'assemble, o il tait entr pour des raisons stratgiques, suggres par Lord Sydenham comme un effort pour s'opposer l'ambition d'un homme qui devait tre le pre du mari de la fille de Delisle, Alexandre reste au-del du style de vie habituel prestigieux Francocanadian de l'avocat, en continuant comme un conservateur (Bleu). Maintenant la plupart du temps en tant que fonctionnaire du gouvernement, sauf pendant une brve priode au cours de laquelle l'opposition librale a effectu une chasse aux sorcires; ironiquement, la demande de son frre. Delisle a galement t constat que sur les conseils d'administration des entreprises de transport (maritime et ferroviaire), d'une banque destine rpondre aux besoins de l'homme du commun (maintenant connu sous le nom de la Banque Laurentienne), et a particip activement en faveur des intrts de son glise - par l'avoir reconstruit et en lui fournissant des biens pour un cimetire. Enfin, ses achats et ventes de terres ont galement t lis au dveloppement de Montral. Bien que les informations manquent pour une confirmation positive de l'existence d'erreurs dans les informations disponibles, deux points douteux sont portes l'attention des lecteurs, dans le matriel existant, sont faits remarquer. Il est conclu qu'il y avait l un homme d'affaires qui n'ont pas fait tout pour son propre compte : voici un franco-canadien, qui a russi s'entendre avec les Anglo-Canadiens, mais sans trahir ses racines, voici une catholique romaine qui a obtenu bien s'entendre avec des protestants - le tout dans une poque o le mot "diversit" n'tait pas ce qu'elle est aujourd'hui.
---
Observations
L'auteur tient souligner qu'il y a une erreur potentielle dans les dates de l'achat de la proprit de M. Workman. Lhistoire de Ste-Cungonde dit que M. Quesnel vendit vers 1850 ... Alexandre-Maurice Delisle et William Workman , mais 1864 est la date correcte, si ce n'est pas une de plus. .[Voir # 48.] En outre, sur la base des vux de pauvret, l'informations de Charles Monet que Delisle avait lgu $2, 000 un prtre de Saint-Sulpice pour des uvres de charit et quelque $300 des fondations religieuses semble tre incorrect, 45.400 $, le montant aurait reu par le prtre, aprs ajustement pour l'inflation, (environ 2200 %) - mais seulement $ 6800 une fondation religieuse? On souponne une transposition des donnes. Quel que soit le cas, une fois la valeur des monnaies dans l'article sont ajustes pour l'inflation, on comprend que Delisle, en termes modernes, tait millionnaire.Pour lire des biographies en franais: Cliquez ici, ou ici.
Si personne peut aider avec des images sans droit d'auteur, merci beaucoup!
Acknowledgements.
The symbol for Quebec to the left of the French flag in the above image, and herein modified, can be obtained in its original form from Wikipedia Commons
File:QC-flag-contour.png at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:QC-flag-contour.png
Author "Qyd" put it in the public domain on November 23, 2006,
according to the licensing statement.
Canadian Biographies have been specially selected from: http://www.biographi.ca/index-e.html, web page of "Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online".
The image of Delisle, which for copyright reasons cannot be reproduced here, is from Muse McCord d'histoire canadienne, and copied on the web pages of Vieux-Montral.: http://www.vieux.montreal.qc.ca/inventaire/fiches/fiche_pers.php?id=230. A direct link to the original will be implemented later.
Thanks to J. F. Hansen for the image of the Kingston Town Hall, the former Canadian Parliament Building.
Bibliography
Primary Sources Primary sources are found more readily than ever scanned by universities or private corporations, and available on sites such as books.google.com and www.archive.org. The associated viewers make it possible to retrieve relevant information without having to physically read all the information.The primary source par excellence for this article, and analyzed herein, is the Envelope Addressed to A. M. DeLisle.
--."Dtails de la Solennit Saint-Jean-Baptiste.". Le Progrs, June 27, 1846. No. 3. . Acc.: 20100927.
--. "Assemblee" des Actionnaires de la Banque du Peuple." Le Courrier du Canada Numro 41. Quebec, vendredi, 20 mars 1857.
. Acc.: 20100916.
--. "Canadian Trade with the West Indies, Brazil, and Mexico". The American Annual Cyclopdia and Registry of Important Events of the Year 1866. New York: D. Appleton and Co., 1866.
--. "Incendie du Village de Boucherville" La Minerve. Montral. 22 juin 1843. . Acc.: 20101015.
--. The Law Journal Reports for the Year 1869 ... Part III. Vol. XLVII. New Series, Vol. XXXVIII. [London: Edward Bret Ince, 1869]. . Acc. 20101211
--. Report of the commissioners from British North America: appointed to inquire into the trade of the West Indies, Mexico & Brazil : laid before both houses of Parliament by order of His Excellency the governor-general. Ottawa: G.E. Desbarats: 1866.
--. Statutes of the Province of Canada Passed in the Twenty-Fifth Year of the Reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria and in the First Session of the Seventh Parliament of Canada. Quebec: Stewart Derbishire and George Desbarats, 1862.
Borthwick, J. Douglas (John Douglas). History of the Montreal prison from A.D. 1784 to A.D. 1886. Montreal: Periard, 1886.
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